


Things Just Happen

by RedIrisRose



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Chaptered, Coming of Age, F/M, Feels, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Singing, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-16
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedIrisRose/pseuds/RedIrisRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles is just your typical fifteen year old, except he isn't. There isn't anything strange about him per-say he just never really felt the need to fit in. At least he thought there wasn't anything strange about him until he met Louis Tomlinson, after that he wasn't so sure. They met at a concert and from then on it seemed like both boys were on a roller-coaster that consisted of late night parties, running in the rain and feeling like flying.  But everything has its downsides like drunken kisses, bleeding bodies and broken hearts.<br/>Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are not just friends no matter how hard they try and convince themselves. Both boys struggle with this slow realization, Louis was on the football team, he was popular, he had a girlfriend who had a bad habit of sticking her tong down other guys throats but after one weekend he was beginning to question his whole world.<br/>Harry on the other hand was a seemingly innocent boy who worked on the school magazine with his best friend, Liam. But after one weekend with Louis, Harry was seemingly less innocent.<br/>They didn't mean to fall in love but sometimes things just happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It was Better Than Flying

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone thank you for reading! Just to give you a basic feel for the fan fiction. It is going to be a contrast of fluff and angst. It is also kind of a slow burn story though there are some subtle moments in this chapter. There is also a lot of coming of age in Harry’s storyline especially. It is generally a Harry/ Louis story though later it will contain a Zayn/ Liam romance as the story progresses. Enjoy.

A curly haired boy sat curled over himself glazing out the window at the rain that fell in cold, icy sheets outside. His ear buds blasting a familiar tune that he absentmindedly hummed to. A sketch book sat on one edge of the window seat, his camera on the other and his IPod resting somewhere in between. A small wooden pencil spun between his fingers and stray a stray curl fell all over his face. He was fifteen and about to go to his first concert, under his sisters grudging guidance. She had folded months before promising that she would give him a ride to Manchester to see The Script if she could bring her dead weight boyfriend. He had agreed because he had wanted to go for years and his mother wouldn’t let him go. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a car pulling up onto the sidewalk the rain pelting down harder on the windscreen. A loud knock came at his door, so loud at least the boy could hear it over the blaring of his music.  
“Harry, come on we are going to be late if you don’t get your arse downstairs!”  
That was his name, Harry. Harry Edward Styles, he wasn’t your normal fifteen-year-old guy. There wasn’t anything very specific that made him strange, it was just kind of everything. It wasn’t like he was a total freak or anything he had friends but he preferred to be by himself most of the time, self-isolation he guessed. Though he did enjoy talking to people he just wished that there was someone he could tell everything to not just the normal things, like how the weather was or what music you liked. Though Harry did love to talk about music, the only problem was most people didn’t know or listen to the musician he liked. Sometimes he wished that he had someone who would listen to the things that were a little darker. Not to say that Harry was a very dark kind of guy but he had his moments, like now for instance when his mother was in her bedroom screaming at his father over the phone and his older sister, Gemma would more than likely spend most of the two and a half hour drive making kissing faces at her boyfriend whom is Harry’s opinion was a total jack arse.  
“Harry did you hear me? Get the hell down here or we will leave without you!” Gemma’s voice came again.  
This time Harry moved, standing up and shoving the camera, sketchpad and IPod into his rut sack and making his way down the stairs.  
“Have fun and don’t stay there to late, tell your sister to take you straight home afterwards. Okay?” His mother hollered from the corridor her slim fingers cupped around the speaking on the phone as to make sure his dad didn’t hear the conversation.  
“Sure mum”  
Harry both loved and hated how protective she was. He wanted some freedom but he kept reminding himself that she suffocated him because she loved him and he could probably tolerate that. Gemma was standing in the doorway tapping her foot a pout had formed on her face. She had taken a lot of time to look pretty. Harry could tell that by the way she looked. It was as if she was trying too hard to make it look as if she looked like that all the time. Her dark hair hung loose in curls framing her face. She wore a little more makeup then she normally did and her dress was a little too short considering she had others that fit her much better in Harry’s opinion.  
“Took your time, do you want to go to your stupid concert or not?”  
She was extra sarcastic tonight too, which was normally her defense mechanisms for cover the fact that she was either nervous or irritated, probably a bit of both.  
“Do you want to go on a date with your stupid boyfriend or not” Harry replied looking at his shoes, a scuffed pair of white converse that probably should have been thrown out a year ago. Gemma let out a groan.  
“Just come on and don’t embarrass me.”  
Harry and Gemma made their way into the rain that had begun to pour harder outside. It was cold as it bit into his flesh like shards of ice pricking their way down the surface of his skin. It was a relief to finally get into Gemma’s boyfriends car. What was his name again? Ryan, Reese, Eric or maybe Aaron one of them for sure, Gemma scooted over besides her boyfriend snuggling close to him and brushing her lips against his lightly.  
“Hey Rye” Ryan then, that was his name.  
“Hey”  
Was the boys’ reply. Which helped Harry theory that he was in fact a total douche bag.  
Harry plopped down in the back seat of the sedan and tried to pretend he was anywhere but there. The Script would be worth it, he kept reminding himself as they sped down the highway.  
Gemma talked a lot and Ryan talk very little merely adding a few grunts here and there just so Gemma would know he was paying attention. Harry really hated Ryan, he and Gemma had been together for almost three months and he had barley ever said more than ten words to Harry. He was also older than Gemma, his forearm sported many meaningless tattoos his dark brown hair was always messy and very often fell into his eyes. ‘Ruggedly handsome’ is how Gemma always described him but that seemed much too pleasant for Harry’s liking. Harry had promised himself that if he were ever to get tattoos that they would mean something because Ryan just look like he was trying way to hard to be cool and just ended up looking like a prick.  
The hours dragged on until Harry wondered how long he was going to be able to stand sitting tensely in the back seat. He shoved his ear buds in and closed his eyes hoping that time would pass quickly. He must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes his ear buds rested on the seat next to him and it had gotten slightly darker.  
“Come on Gemma, everyone is going” Ryan’s voice had a rough edge and Harry instantly grew curious on what they were talking about.  
“I can’t ditch Harry for a stupid party and I sure as hell aren’t going to take him. He is fifteen! What kind of sister would I be if I did that?”  
“Your kidding yourself the kid would love it”  
“I said no Ryan now pull the hell over, we’re there” Harry had never heard Gemma be so harsh with Ryan. Harry thought that he was the only one who saw Gemma’s super pissed off side but it seemed like Ryan go his dose too.  
Harry shut his eyes and pretended he was still asleep feeling like he had been ease dropping. Someone shook him lightly so he let his jade green eyes flutter open.  
“Harry we are here”  
“Cool” Was all Harry said scooping up his rut sack and walking towards the ticket office.  
Somehow he managed to get close enough to Gemma that Ryan couldn’t see what he was doing and leaned over to whispered in his sisters ear,  
“Gem, it’s okay with me if you want to go to a party I won’t tell mum”  
Gemma looked back at him with wide eyes her mouth agape. She hadn’t known that he was listening and he could see her skin go pale then blush.  
“No Harry, I want to go to a stupid concert with my baby brother. Look Ryan has been a bit intense lately that’s all. If he wants to go to a stupid party he can”  
She plastered a fake smile on her face then walked back over to Ryan as if nothing had happened. Harry waited a man who ushers them through the doors and suddenly Harry eyes light up.  
So many bodies were crammed into such a small place, the stage was huge and they seemed so close. Thousands of different coloured lights pointing onto an empty stage and voices echoed and bounced off the walls. Harry felt his stomach soar as he crammed himself as close to the stage as the others would allow. Gemma followed him every now and again almost laughing to herself as she saw her brother’s eyes light up over one thing or another. He pulled out his chunky canon camera. Gemma had always complained to him that he could always use his phone ‘like a normal person’ but she didn’t get the way that his camera could capture the light, the sound even the atmosphere somehow in a single shot. It was amazing.  
Harry placed the camera up to his eye and shot everything from every angle he could think of. He thanked the fact that he often shot photos for the school magazine because he knew from past experience what angle would make things look even more magical. He would tilt up the camera slightly to highlight the hugeness of the stage or the way the lights hit.  
He turned to get on last photo of the crowd before the opening act came on stage and somehow he managed to catch someone’s gaze.  
Blue eyes, big bright orbs slightly covered by sweeping brown hair. It was a boy who looked about eighteen. He was about to wave or at least that’s what it looked like but then looked away seeming to blend back into the crowd. Weird. That was all Harry could think before deciding to spin back around and just enjoy the show.  
When the opening act came onto the stage everyone began to scream louder that Harry had ever heard. It was a sudden explosion of lights and noise but that was nothing compared to when The Script took the stage, at first everyone fell silent and then the screams began and the wolf whistles. Harry found himself screaming along with them his eyes getting this strange glazed over look as they began to sing wondering to himself what it would be like to be up there. Having thousands of people scream your name; sing your lyrics and being caught in the spotlight. Harry sung at the top of his lungs this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach it took him a while to know how to describe this feeling. The best was he could put it is in three simple words. He felt free. He felt like someone had just cut him loose from the earth and he was flying.  
One of their more upbeat songs began to play and everyone pushed themselves closer to the stage dancing, waving their hands in the air and screaming at the top of their lungs. The lights shone out into the crowd and Harry turned around shooting Gemma who was standing behind him, he shot her a begging look. He didn’t even need to say a word Gemma was locked hand in hand with Ryan and nodded at him. Harry ran to the front of the stage where he began to dance.  
He knew that he was making a total fool of himself but he didn’t even care. Not tonight. He didn’t care about how stupid he looked or how his sister was dating a totally douche bag or that his parents couldn’t even spend ten minutes on the phone without turning it into a fight. Right now there was just him, the music and the lights. He wanted to stay there forever just like that because it was the best he had ever felt. It was even better than flying.  
Harry’s thoughts were shattered when another body slammed against him and he spun on his heels quickly finding himself face to face with familiar blue eyes.  
“Oops” Harry said lamely feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked down at his shoes and screamed above the blare of the music and the screams,  
“Sorry!”  
The other boy just tilted his head to the side his brown hair flicking into his eyes but he flashed a cool smile.  
“Hi!” He screamed back.  
“Um… hi, sorry about that” Harry repeated himself not sure if the other boy had heard his apology.  
“It’s fine. I saw you taking photos earlier”  
“Really?” Harry wanted to sound cool in front of this guy not wanting to seem like he had been staring at him or anything.  
“Yeah, first concert I guess?” Harry looked down and nodded.  
“What’s your name?” The other boy asks still having to scream over the music and occasionally dodging dancing bodies.  
“Harry” Harry wasn’t sure what to do so he extended a hand.  
“Louis” The other boy said taking his hand. Their fingers intertwining for a little longer that Harry would have considered a normal handshake, but what did he know?  
The music faded for a little while and a new beat came in, Louis eyes light up.  
“I love this song”  
Louis hand somehow managed to fall back into Harry’s grip and before he knew it he was being dragged through the crowd to the very front of the stage where numerous members of the band would randomly run pass slapping the crowds extended hands. Louis began to sway back and forth and for some reason Harry did the same feeling even freer with the boy by his side. It seemed strange considering he was more than likely much older than Harry and he should have been intimidated by his forwardness but instead he felt like dancing and singing and just feeling something better than flying. Louis started to sing too and when he sung Harry felt shivers run up his pine. Even though the other voices were drowning his out a lot of his voice the parts Harry could hear were perfect, this guy could sing, really sing. Not like most people who were singing along to the words Louis sung it like he felt it, like he was pouring his heart into every word he sang and it was beautiful. That song faded and Louis smiled at Harry,  
“You are going to have to a bit better than that Harold, don’t do things halfheartedly”  
Louis said this with a flicked of excitement in his eyes as if he enjoys teasing him. Before Harry could come up with a smart remark the band began to play and a cheeky smiled toyed at Harry’s lips. He was going to show Louis who did things half-heartedly. It was one of their slower songs but he wasn’t going to let the stop him he sung at the top of his lungs putting his whole heart into every word.  
The song was not one of their well-known ones but Harry still knew the words and they felt just right as they rolled off his tongue.

“My hands are cold, my body's numb”

Harry kept a smug smirk on his face as he sung. Louis cut in when the choirs came with his angelic voice and even though there were hundreds of people singing it felt like it was just them singing together in perfect harmony. Their voices mingling together and making Harry almost lose his breath. 

“I don't know how much more love this heart can lose, And I'm dying, dying from these exit wounds”

Harry sung louder and started to sway and smirk he swears he saw more than one of the members of the band look their way. Louis started laughing for no real reason and though Harry wasn’t sure what was so funny he began to laugh loudly and everything faded the music, the lights and the noises.  
“Thank you everyone, you have been an awesome crowd” Then even the stage lights faded.  
Harry turned to look at Louis who was still smirking his cheeks flushed and his blue eyes were shimmering like lights in the near blackness.  
“That was fun Haz, how are you getting home?” Harry looked around but he couldn’t see Gemma.  
He fumbled around in his pocket where he had earlier put his phone. He retched it out and looked down at it cursing silently.  
Went to the party, sorry. I will pick you up later don’t go anywhere I am really sorry.  
Xx Gemma  
Harry let out a scoff and thrust his phone back into his pocket feeling like cursing. Louis must have seen that something was wrong because he looked at him and raised an eyebrow.  
“What happened?” Harry would be stupid to dump all his problems on Louis.  
“My sister ditched me for some party” So why had he said that?  
“Do you want me to drive you home? How far away are you?” Louis felt sorry for him, Jesus.  
“No, it’s okay I just met you and anyway I live in Holmes Chapel, it isn’t exactly a short drive”  
“Do you know where the party was?”  
“No idea it was probably some dumb collage party” Louis eyes light up.  
“Really?” His voice raised an octave.  
“Yeah I think so, so what?”  
“I think I know where she went”  
Louis began to make his way through the crowd and through one of the gates Harry followed him not sure what he was really doing.  
“What are you doing?” Harry asked when they were in the car park.  
“Helping you find your sister what does it look like?"


	2. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is taking Harry to a party to for his sister, late at night, filled with drunk teen and collage kids. What could go wrong? Right?

The air was warm in the car despite the frost that bit into the windows that came with the downpour of rain. Harry still somehow managed to feel freezing. He wasn’t sure why, maybe it was just the fact that reality was coming crashing down on him. He realized that he was in the car with a strange boy that he have never met before who despite his good looks and childlike smile could be a possible danger to him in more ways than one. He had never really thought of what would happen if he got into this situation. When he was a kid he was told, like all other children never to get into a car with a stranger. But he wasn’t a kid anymore and in a strange way Louis didn’t seem like a stranger. He seemed like another part of Harry as if they were one and the same. Wow that was very deep. Harry never felt like that for anyone.   
He shrugged it off and curled himself into a ball against the window letting the cold outside air freeze his face. What the hell was Gemma thinking? Harry wasn’t as pissed as he was worried. What if something happened to her? If Harry was right about the type of guy Ryan was then what was to say that Gemma wasn’t in much more danger than Harry? He shivered at the thought and felt a hand place itself in the middle of his back sending shockwaves through his body.   
“Are you cold?” Louis asked then removed his hand.  
Before Harry had time to respond he felt something warm be placed around his body. He turned away from the window to face Louis now realizing that he had shrugged off his jacket and placed it around Harry, they were about the same size, which Harry thought was funny considering the fact that Louis was much older, though he still wasn’t sure by how much.   
“I can’t have you getting a cold” Louis took his eyes off the road for a minute to glace over at Harry shooting him a smile.  
“Thanks… I’m not a kid, you know? I can look after myself” Harry didn’t want to be treated like a baby under any context.  
“Yeah but no one should have to look after themselves entirely when they have people who care about them”   
There was a lapse of silence because Harry wasn’t really sure how to respond. Was Louis saying he cared about Harry? Could you really care about someone so quickly?   
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence it was just simple silence. It took a long time for the two boys to finally reach the party though Harry knew when he was getting close because he could practically smell the alcohol and see numerous people stumbling through the streets. Louis parks his car across the street to a suburban house and music blared, through the darkness Louis looks over to Harry and gave a small smirk.   
“We’re here”  
Louis jumps out of the car and watches as Harry does the same. There is something almost funny about the way he watches Harry, like he is trying to figure something out.   
“What are you staring at?” Harry asks and Louis smirks.  
“Nothing I was just thinking how funny it is. The jacket fits you perfectly”   
Harry still didn’t understand what Louis was talking about but didn’t say anything. Though confusion must have been written all over his face because Louis felt the need to continue.   
“It was my dad’s, it’s still like a size too big for me”   
“You and your dad must be close”   
It was the first thing that had come to Harry’s mind though it must have been the wrong thing to say because as he said it something behind Louis eyes flickered.  
“Not exactly”  
He let the subject drop after that. Louis led Harry to the door of the house and gave Harry a small smirk as he knocked on the door.   
It was a tall boy about Louis age who opened the door a smug smile plastered on his face. There was not recognition in his eyes as he looked over the two boys but he seemed to shrug it off and stepped aside.  
“Do you two actually know anyone at this party?” The guy asked  
“Yeah actually we do. Zayn invited me I was just held up”   
The boy seemed to know the name because he stopped asking questions and walked away. Harry looked around in awe of everything he saw. There were people dancing on counter tops and smoke wafting from for corners of the room. Harry had this strange thought that maybe he had fallen in the car to The Script and was dreaming because everything about tonight seemed so surreal.   
Louis grabbed Harry by the wrist and led him to a secluded spot in the corner of the living room wedged between a couple locked in an embrace and a very sullen boy playing random dance party music from his IPod docking station.   
“Do you see them?’ Louis asks.  
“Not sure there are a lot of people here” Harry let his eyes scan the crowd.  
“Have you tried calling your sister?”   
“Yeah, she didn’t answer”   
Louis let out a little sight and looked around. His eyes lit up when a tanned boy with large brown eyes his hair sleeked into a quiff walked into the living room from what Harry presumed was the kitchen. The boy was quickly approaching in their direction Louis smiled at the boy who simply gave a smirk in return.   
“Hey Lou you came after all” The boy had a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other he greeted Louis with a friendly smack on the shoulder.   
“Hey Zayn, I wasn’t going to come but young Harry here made me change my mind”   
Zayn gave Harry a once over then gave a lazy smile.  
“Corrupting the youth are we?”  
“Something like that”   
“Well you are doing a horrible job the kid isn’t even drunk yet”   
Zayn handed Harry his half drained cup and Louis shifted beside him uncomfortably. Harry dared to take a sip and gave a small cough. It didn’t taste to bad really it mostly tasted of coke with the slight after taste of vodka.   
“That isn’t what we were trying to do we were looking for someone” This seems to catch Zayn’s interest.   
“Really Tomlinson, who?” Louis turned to Harry  
“My sister Gemma and her boyfriend Ryan… He is tall, early twenties, douche bag tattoos” Zayn let out a laugh.  
“Yeah I know Ryan. He isn’t the type of guy I recommend seeing, though if you are really intent on finding him. I am pretty sure I saw him go upstairs a girl about half an hour ago”   
“Shit” Harry whispered and then downed the rest of the drink. Before he could storm upstairs Louis grabbed his arm and pulled him back.  
“Look just don’t do anything you will regret. She is your sister and you are worried. I will find her okay, you stay with Zayn and Zayn…”  
Louis turned to Zayn and gave him a small tap on the shoulder,  
“Don’t corrupt him too much okay” Zayn gave a smile and nodded then Louis was gone blending into the dancing crowd his footsteps becoming muffled by the music and talking of overly drunk teens. For a second or two Harry couldn’t find Zayn either until he appeared with two cups in his hand his smoke somehow going missing in the proses. He handed one to Harry before quickly draining the content of his cup.  
“Drink up kid, just don’t get me in too much trouble with Lou”   
Harry looked down at his cup and scowled. Harry hadn’t drank before tonight, not really. He had only sips of his mother’s wine here and there on special occasions like Christmases or birthdays but wine was nothing compared to vodka. Wine was bitter and left a horrible taste is his mouth whereas the coke seemed to almost drown out the taste of alcohol. His sipped it tentatively his mind wandering to thoughts of Gemma, he had never thought of his sister as the type of girl who would hook up her boyfriend at a party, but then what did he know? He took another sip and then another until the cup was empty and he was looking for more. He was pissed at everything, at his sister for leaving him, at Ryan for taking her here and for what he was more than likely doing to her upstairs it was really horrible. Zayn looked over at him and gave a small smirk, the guy seemed to like to smirk a lot maybe it was the fact that he was also very drunk.  
“What’s wrong kid?”   
“Nothing” Unlike with Louis Harry didn’t feel the need to share his innermost thoughts with Zayn. The guy wasn’t very straightforward like Louis. Harry couldn’t tell if he was the type of guy who was joking and playful or if he was serious and sullen, maybe he was somewhere in the middle but Harry couldn’t seem to figure him out.  
“Someone who drinks like that obviously has a reason to drown their sorrows. For a first timer you are a natural”   
“Is that why you’re drinking? To drown your sorrows?” Harry was pretty good at deflecting.  
“You know I met Louis at a party like this a few months back, he was drinking like that too. Turns out his girlfriend broke up with him. Pretty rough, what was her name again? It rhymed with door or poor or whore okay maybe not whore but she was one. What was it? Her name was…Eleanor!”  
Okay Zayn was very good a deflecting too, though his was also obviously too drunk to make sense of what he was saying. That still didn’t stop him from bringing another round of drinks and it didn’t stop Harry from drinking his either. He began to wonder why he was doing so because he really didn’t have any sorrow to down. Did he? He was having the best night of his life, besides being deserted by his sister who was more interested in Ryan then the air she breathed. Though Harry had told her it was okay for her to go. The thing was he had wanted her to say no. He wanted her to stay because no one else seemed to want to stick around. Harry dad hadn’t wanted to stick around. Where did that come from? Maybe Harry was drunker that he thought to because he hadn’t thought of his dad like that in a very long time because it didn’t to anyone any good dwelling on him.  
Harry felt like he couldn’t breathe but he liked it. He was blinded by the flashing lights and crushed by a number of sweat soaked bodies rubbing and grinding themselves against him. His mind was so blurred from alcohol that it was almost impossible to make out one strangers face from the next. Zayn had disappeared into the sea of people. Most people were just as drunk as he was the only difference is that they were reveling in. He wanted to take a photo because the way the light hit people faces lighting some and darkening others. It all seemed so out of this world that he needed to capture the moment but he didn’t know where is camera had gone. He had it a minute ago didn’t he? Had he left it in Louis car? Where was Louis? Why did he want him to be here so badly? How drunk was he?   
So this was what it was like to feel drunk. Everything is slow, loud and bright it made Harry want to dance while making a total fool out of himself because the truth was he couldn’t dance when he was sober. It also gave him the overwhelming urge to run away and hid in a dark place like his room. He wanted to have the comfort of the pale blue walls and the smooth feeling of his shag carpet beneath his feet and fingers but he didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be with a friend, maybe with Louis. What? Where the hell did that come from? Harry didn’t even have time to blame that on being drunk he just needed to find Louis, he was scared and felt like a five year who had lost his parents.   
Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and turns on his heels expecting to either meet a familiar face or that of a semi drunk girl but instead he came face to face with a very pissed off Ryan.   
“What are you doing here Styles?” He growled through clenched teeth.  
“Trying to find my sister and get her the hell away from you” Had he just said that?   
“Oh you think you’re so smart now don’t you? Your friend practically dragged me off my date because of you” Harry’s eyes narrowed   
“Where is Gemma?” His words filled with bitter hatred  
“I didn’t say my date was Gemma did I? She freaked out as soon as we go here. She was going to pick you up but she didn’t have a car. I guess no one knows where she ended up”   
Harry’s jaw dropped and something snapped inside of him. He wasn’t sure what but he was blaming it on the alcohol for the simple fact that he had never felt as much pent up rage as he did in that moment. He gave Ryan a shove that barely budged him in place.  
“You are a tool you know that? A sick, twisted, good-for-nothing tool! No matter how many girls you screw you will still be just a washed up stoner with no future and…”  
Harry didn’t get to finish his sentence before he felt the brute force of Ryan’s fist pound against his jaw. He doubled over coughing up blood in an uneasy spray. The yelling had now caused a group of people to crowd around the two boys. Harry had no idea what he was thinking when he hit back, it was all just a blur of rage.   
Soon more punches came from the older boy too. Two quick jabs to the stomach and another to the ribs. Harry soon found himself on the floor Ryan still kicking and punching his marks into his flesh. That’s when things started to get confusing Harry watched as Zayn emerged from the crowd stepping forward and dragging the older boy off Harry and practically throwing him across the room. It was impressive to say the least consider Ryan was taller and bulker than Zayn though something told Harry Zayn had experience with this type of thing.   
Ryan rose to his feet only to have Zayn push him back down again a bitter, snide smile finding its way onto Zayn’s lips. He ran his finger though is styled hair and gave a sigh.  
“Looks like you messed up my hair Rye… When are you ever going to learn to pick on someone your own size?”  
At this point Zayn looked as if he were just getting warmed up for a big fight. Harry felt a tender tugging on his jacket, no not his jacket, Louis jacket. Harry turned to see Louis a sad smile playing on his lips he extended a hand and helped Harry to not only stand but also make his way to the front door. Harry ended up crumbling to his knees on the front steps letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. It didn’t hurt as much as it should have and that’s how Harry knew that he was drunk because really he should have been feeling like hell right now but all he could think about was the way the moonlight shone down on Louis angular face making his eyes even bluer if that was even possible.   
“Are you okay Haz?” Harry let out a small yawn and shook his head his eyes threatening to shut at any moment.   
“Are you hurt” He shook his head again, no.   
“Tired?” To this Harry nodded resting his head against the railing feeling himself drift off to sleep. What a night it had been. It was worth it. That was what Harry’s second last though was. His last thought was that if he never saw Louis again he still didn’t think that he could ever forget him. Louis Tomlinson was not the type of person you forgot and little did Harry realize Louis Tomlinson was also not the type of person to leave a fifteen year old curly haired boy with big green eyes sleeping on the front steps of a stranger’s house. When Harry’s eyes shut Louis gave a small sigh and picked up the younger boy in his arms carrying him over to his car. With a small sight Louis ran his hand through Harry’s curls and whispered,  
“What are we going to do with you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for reading. The next chapter you will get to know a little more about the characters and even though there wasn't much romance in this chapter (and it was pretty short compared to the ones that are coming soon) will the promise of a shirtless Harry and some general Louis angst be enough for you to want to hold on and read more?   
> Comment are always appreciated! :D


	3. Photos and Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up in a strange room with a pounding headache. Great, just great. His first hangover.

The slamming of the door shocked Harry awake. He let his fingers trail along the silk covers and inhaled deeply. The smell of cologne and cigarette smoke filled his nose making his eyes shoot open. He wasn’t in his room of course or any place he knew of for that matter.  
There were thick black curtains pulled over the window and a small dresser shoved into the corner of the room. Something else that caught his eye was the artwork that is scattered across the walls. Some were small and almost cartoon like where as others were an abstract mess of dark and light tangling together in such a way it reminded of the way the lights had hit the concert stage.  
That’s when everything came rushing back to him; the concert, the party, drinking, fighting, Zayn saving him and Louis, god Louis was the one thing about last night that stuck in his brain so clearly even in his drunken state. Louis had helped him to the front steps of the house, then what? What happened to Gemma? She was going to kill Harry right before Harry’s mum killed Gemma for having left him behind with a stranger.   
Harry sat up a so quickly only thinking of how he had to find Gemma, call her and maybe his mum before she had a mental break down. But as soon as he sat up he knew it was a bad idea, the world began to spin and he got this horrible nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach.   
“Hey, take it easy” He heard the familiar voice says from the corner of the room. Louis. He stood from his hiding place and crossed the room to ruffle Harry curls.   
“Lou” Harry said weakly still feeling as if he were going to throw up. The older boy gave a small smile at the nickname. Harry wasn’t sure where he picked it up, though he was pretty sure he heard Zayn call him it last night.  
“Yeah Haz. Take is easy for me, okay? I’m not going to lie, today you are probably going to feel like shit” Harry let out a dry laugh,  
“Great”  
At that Louis walked back over to the dresser gathering two cups that had been set down there. He walked back to the bed and handed one to Harry.   
“Here I made tea. I was going to make breakfast but I don’t think Zayn has any food in the refrigerator but that wouldn’t really matter anyway considering can’t make toast without burning it” A smile played at his lips and he sat cross-legged at the end of the bed. Harry drank carefully not wanting to overwhelm his stomach.   
“Where are we?”   
“Zayn’s apartment in Manchester” Harry’s eyes widened, he needed to get home. He was so screwed.   
He reached down into his jeans to get his phone but couldn’t find it. He patted the inside of his pocket and cursed. Louis extended his hand holding out Harry’s sleek black phone.  
“This what you’re looking for? It kind of fell out when Zayn and I carried you up here, I called your sister” Harry froze,  
“You called my sister?” He asked his voice filled with disbelief.  
“Yeah, I wanted to see if she was okay and I also wanted her to know you were safe”  
“What did she say?”   
“She yelled at me for a long time. Quite a protective sister you have there… she threatened to cut off… many different body parts if you weren’t home safe by three today. She took the bus home last night and gave your mum an excuse that you met up with one of your friends and they were staying in Manchester for the night”   
Harry set down his tea and fell back into the sea of sheets. Letting out a sharp gasp as his rips and stomach shouted in protest.   
“My mum is still going to kill me” Harry let out a sigh his ribs were killing him and even his jawbone throbbed. He reached up and touched his jaw instantly cringing as pain shot through his body. Louis instantly leaned in closer examining the dark purple bruise that had formed from Harry’s jaw to the top of his cheek. Their faces were only inches away from each other. Harry could smell tea and cinnamon on Louis breath and just hoped that the smell of tea masked his morning breath though he wasn’t sure why he cared so much about what Louis thought of him. Louis blue eyes trailed over Harry’s features and then he let out a small sigh. Louis reached out his fingers trailing to the collar of Harry shirt and he instantly stiffened. It was only then that Louis’s eyes met Harry’s and he seemed to realize what he was doing.  
“Sorry, I wanted to see if you had bruises on your stomach too. You got the crap kicked out of you Haz”   
Harry pressed his fingers slightly down on his abdomen and cringed. It was definitely bruised.   
“How is Zayn? He kind of saved my arse” At this Louis get out a laugh and sat back.  
“Yeah he kind of has a habit of doing that. Don’t worry he is fine, barley a scratch on him. The other guy not so lucky but I warn you Zayn saves peoples arse just so they owe him later” Louis stood up and seemed to want Harry to do the same, which he begrudgingly did ignoring his body which screamed at him to stop.  
Louis gave him a once over and then walked over to the dresser and pulled out a simple black tee shirt along with a pair of jeans. He flung them Harry’s way then guided him down the hallway to the bathroom. Before closing the door he gave away a few parting words.  
“Clean yourself up Haz, I will get the car and wait outside.”  
There came a small groan from one of the other rooms and Louis lowered his voice.   
“Zayn is sleeping on the sofa so don’t wake him, I will tell him that you are grateful for him saving your arse and I will also yell at him later for getting you drunk… Oh and don’t worry about your stuff it’s still in the car.  
Louis was still leaning in the doorway he looked as if he were debating something with himself. Finally he adds,  
“You take really good photos by the way”   
Louis left then and Harry quickly made his way into the bathroom shutting the door and feeling a blush rise in his cheeks. It was stupid that Harry was embarrassed that Louis saw his photos but he was. His photos were like a journal to Harry, it was how he saw the world and that was now how Louis would see him.   
He pushed that to the back of his mind and slowly slipped off Louis jacket cautiously then his shirt cringing all the way. Harry splashed water onto his face and then examined the damage of his batter body. He tilted his head and the boy in the mirror did the same. Large blackish purple bruises covered a large portion of his torso. He sighed and looked away pulling on the cloths that Louis gave him. He guessed that they were Zayn’s because they fit Harry well compared to how he would imagine Louis’s would. Harry looked over at the spot on the ground where Louis jacket lay. He found himself picking it up and slipping it on before walking out into the hallway.   
Zayn was sleeping soundly on his leather back couch, not a single bruise tainted his face or most of his dark skin. The only evidence that he was in a fight at all was the small amount of bruising on his knuckles. Harry made sure to shut the door quietly before slipping outside and down the stairs to the bottom floor where he found Louis waiting outside leaning against his car.   
Harry hadn’t taken much notice of his car last night after being so freaked out about Gemma, the party, his mother and he was even slightly distracted by Louis himself though he couldn’t quiet explain why. Now in the light of day Harry could see it was a sleek black Porsche, his jaw dropped. Louis seemed to notice because he gave out a small laugh and swung himself into the drivers set.   
“Is your family billionaires or something?” Harry asks as he slides into the passenger seat and Louis laughs again.  
“They wish” Is all he says starting the car.   
At first they drove in silence only the sound of breathing could be heard but then Louis reached of the sound system clicking on the button and filling the car with a familiar tune. Louis began to hum along while mindlessly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Harry suddenly recognized the artist and smiled to himself.  
“The Fray?” Harry stated looking over to Louis.  
“Yeah… they’re my favorite” A smile fixed itself on Harry’s face and he took a mental note of it knowing that someday it might come in handy.  
“I like them too…”  
Louis smiled and hummed a little louder. It only occurred to Harry then that Louis really didn’t need to be driving him home. He didn’t really have any obligation and really Harry could have coped with a several hour bus trip. He wondered why Louis would bother considering most people wouldn’t.  
“You don’t have to take me home you could have just let me take the bus or something” Harry felt slightly guilty for dragging Louis all the way to Homes Chapel.   
“That wouldn’t be a very good thing for a friend to do, now would it? Plus you aren’t the only one who is trying to avoid something Haz”   
Sometimes Louis could be very vague, that is something that Harry found after talking to him over the past few days. Louis could be straightforward but joking one minute yet serious and vague the next. This side shone through sometimes but something inside Harry knew it wasn’t a side he showed often to most people.   
“Does it have to do with Eleanor?” Harry had blurted out before thinking but Louis smiled just the same.  
“Zayn, that arse. Yes, it does have to do with El but it’s more than that… I just really don’t want to have to deal with the Doncaster drama right now.”   
Harry raised an eyebrow, he had always assumed that Louis lived in Manchester but when you owned a car like Louis, Harry guessed you could drive wherever you liked. Well maybe not a dodgy back street that would be just asking for it to be stolen.   
“Do you want to talk about it?” Harry wasn’t sure why he asked but in a way he felt like he was getting what he wanted, a friend to talk to about more important things but it wasn’t just that he wanted to tell Lou everything. He wanted to hear Louis story too, he wanted to know about this strange Doncaster lad who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He also like The Scrip and The Fray but couldn’t cook to save his life, the boy with the girl troubles and the drunken party friend. He wanted to know everything about this guy.   
“Tell you what Harold, let’s play a game. You tell me one thing about a photo of my choice in that camera of yours and I will tell you one reason I would rather drive off the face of the earth than go home”   
“Okay, you go first” Louis let out a laugh and turned the music down slightly,  
“That’s not how the game works. I made it up so you go first.”   
Harry simply nodded in response.  
“Tell me out the football snapshots”   
Harry didn’t even have to think to know the ones he was talking about. He had taken then over a month ago for the school magazine, they were doing an article on the school football team being on the top of the leader board. Harry didn’t play football much but he knew enough about the sport to see when they had a good team and this year’s team was really good. He had taken snapshots of at least seven goals in one game, which was quite a hard task considering they didn’t stop and pose for him to take the photo like the ones he would normally have to do for the magazine.  
“I had to take them for the school magazine, our team is winning so far this season”   
Louis nodded “I am in our school football team. It is one of the many reasons I don’t want to go back, I love the sport and I thought I loved the team… but lately I’m not so sure.”   
Everything went quiet for a moment and Louis began to tap his fingers on the steering wheel again.  
“So what about the picture of you and the older guy with the half curly hair?”   
Harry smirked immediately knowing he was talking about Liam and knowing the photo which consisted of Liam smiling brightly with a microphone in one hand and the other slung around Harry. Liam also worked for the school magazine though he normally wrote articles that were about music. Liam was almost as big of a fan of music in its varying forms as Harry was. Liam was two years older than Harry but despite that Harry would go as far to say that they were best friends. When Liam wasn’t busy with schoolwork, the magazine or his busking career he and Harry would hang out in Liam’s den listening to whatever they happened to feel like on the day. They would also play video games or pool. Liam was a fun guy who was down to earth and very caring. Harry could never understand why he didn’t have any friends in his grade. Liam had transferred a year ago, why Harry wasn’t sure but he did know that it wasn’t something Liam wanted to talk about. That particular photo Harry remember was taken the first day Liam took Harry to London in the holidays to show him how you could actually make money busking. Liam had sung and played the guitar most of the day while Harry mostly sat back and enjoyed the scenery snapping photos every now and again or joining in to sing a song or two. He had afterwards insisted he get a photo with Liam to capture the moment along with Liam’s set list because Liam did have a pretty good taste in music though he normally went for the more hard vocal balled were as Harry’s taste varied on his mood, though you could never go wrong with a little Pink Floyd or John Mayer.   
“That’s Liam. He is my best friend. We took the photo last holidays in London Liam has this weird thing with street busking, but he is surprisingly really good. That day he got over three hundred ponds”   
“Your best friend? You better warn him I am in line to take his position”   
Louis said it jokingly but something about his words seemed to stick in Harry’s head. He wondered what it would be like to have Louis as a best friend. He and Louis seemed to fit in a weird way. It wasn’t because they had similar interests like Liam and Harry or because they shared similar habits like Harry thought Louis and Zayn did. The two boys just seemed to get each other, complement each other. They just fit.   
“Yeah you might have to tell him that one yourself”  
“Oh I will when I get the chance… anyway I guess it’s my turn now… El and I broke up the first time because I caught her kissing another football player at an after party, the same thing happened with the second time we broke up only a different guy” Harry raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t going to say anything.  
“You must really love her then” So why did he say something?  
Louis grunted in response.   
“I just mean that if you are willing to forgive someone after all that they must be important to you”   
“Have you ever dated a girl Haz?” Louis asks out of nowhere.  
“Yeah a few”   
“Why didn’t they work out?”   
“I never loved them. I didn’t want to be with someone I didn’t love. Not because I though I deserved better or anything I just thought that it wasn’t fair to hold on to someone you had no intention in keeping. It was kinder in the long run”   
“I don’t love El” Louis seemed so sure of his words yet so lost in the statement.  
“She doesn’t love me either”   
“So why are you together?”   
“Convenience I suppose. I have a lot of friends who are in the same crowd and she is very pretty, so I guess I love the idea of us being together, just not the actual thing.”   
Harry could see the familiar Holmes Chapel turn off and gave an inward sigh. When he got home his mother would kill him, his sister would shun him but worst of all he would have to say goodbye to Louis. Harry had this crazy idea in his head that maybe under other circumstances they could be best friends but it just seemed hard to do considering the distance and the lack of time spent together.   
“Turn off here then follow the road until the second turn off, then go left” Harry instructed then went back to addressing the conversation.  
“You want to know what I think Lou?”   
Louis nodded and twisted the steering wheel to the left.  
“I think that you deserve better than to have someone who wants you because of convenience”   
“You don’t know what I deserve Haz”  
There was silence for a minute Harry wasn’t sure how to respond.  
“This house?” Louis asks pulling the car up in front of Harry’s house.   
Harry gave a loud sigh as his mum Anne rushed out of the house. He grabbed his rut sack from the back of the car and walked out to great her. Her hug had so much force behind it that Harry was almost knocked off his feet.  
“Harry Edward Styles do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come home? Then Gemma turns up at an ungodly hour of the morning saying she let you say the night with a friend in Manchester. I was about to call the police and… God what happened to your face?” Harry had almost forgotten the large bruise on his jawline.   
“Umm…” Think Harry, think.  
“Yes, sorry about that the mosh pit tends to get a bit violent at times. Don’t worry Harry copped the least of it. From my toes up are purple for overactive dancing girls in nine-inch heels.”   
Harry turned to see Louis standing behind him a friendly smile plastered on his face.  
“You must be the friend, I’m Harry’s mother Anne”   
“Hello Ms. Styles, I’m Louis Tomlinson” He was being overly nice to Harry’s mother and it almost made Harry smile.   
“Well thank you for making sure he came home safely. It is getting late, how are you going to get back?”  
“I’m probably going to drive half the way tonight then pull into a dinner, maybe stay the night in a motel on the way”   
“Oh no you won’t. Not when there is a perfectly fine spare room upstairs” Was his mum really asking Louis to say the night? Why was Harry so excited all of a sudden?  
“I really should be getting back”  
“I insist it’s the least I can do”  
“Well I suppose when you put it that way, how could I say no?” Harry felt his heart drop and sore all at the same time. He didn’t know why he felt the way he did but he didn’t want it to stop. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so this chapter was a lot of background information and we are FINALLY getting into the story. I really enjoy writing these chapter and I hope you enjoy reading them. Just to tease you I will say that the next one has a little late night adventure in store ;)


	4. Chase Away My Fears and Kiss Me in the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and Harry have a little midnight getaway but is that internal friction I sense?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that when they get to the football scene if you wanted to listen to some music, when I was writing I was listening to snow patrol what if the storm ends? It fits when you read it in case you were interested.

Louis was led into the spare room where he left his suitcase then headed downstairs for dinner. It was still early in the night but both Harry and Louis were famished considering neither of them had eaten all day. Harry’s mother had made a simple homemade dinner. Louis missed homemade dinners. His mother barely had time to cook for them anymore and normally the family would either have takeout food or microwave meals. Harry sister Gemma didn’t join them for dinner or for the rest of the night for that matter. Louis made small talk with Anne trying to be as polite as possible considering Louis knew she didn’t have to invite him to stay the night. Louis was almost sure she wouldn’t, taking into account the state Harry had been in when they showed up on her doorstep but somehow she seem to trust him.  
“So Louis how do you know Harry?” Anne asked while picking at the remainder of meat left on her plate.  
A simple question but Louis knew it wouldn’t be wise to answer truthfully. It would seem a bit far fetch to say he met Harry yesterday.  
“Well I was in town for football and Harry was doing a thing for the school magazine a month or so back we kind of got to talking, I hadn’t seen his in a while so when I noticed him at the concert we just decided to make a night of it”  
Louis smiled and out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry fumble with his cutlery. Harry couldn’t lie to save his own life. That was evident. Louis on the other hand was fairly good at lying it came naturally to him though he wasn’t sure why.  
After dinner Louis helped wash up while Anne insisted Harry take a shower and give Louis back ‘his cloths’ neither of them corrected her because that meant bringing Zayn into the equation and things would just get difficult to explain from there on.  
When Louis was finished he thanked Anne again and then made his way up the stairs to the spare room. On the way he notice that one of the doors was left ajar. Louis hadn’t meant to look but he just found himself doing it anyway. He saw a fairly large room with powder blue walls and a window seat. Many albums were scattered across the floor and a pile of books and papers were scattered across the desk. Sitting on the double bed in the center of the room was Harry. His back was to Louis, his curls plastered dripping wet to the nape of his neck. Harry’s shirt had somehow gone astray and that’s when Louis realized Harry was examining the bruise that covered his body. Louis took another step forward trying to see them better when the door let out a creaking noise.  
Harry spun around his eyes instantly meeting Louis he leaped up wide-eyed.  
“Sorry I was just… shit.”  
Louis eyes caught the black bruises that spread across his strum and abdomen. Another thing Louis couldn’t help but notice was that he was quite fit for a fifteen year old his body toned and muscly. Louis hadn’t realized that Harry was in such bad shape. He knew the younger boy took a beating but he had never thought it was this bad. Harry quickly looked down and blushes grabbing a pillow to cover his torso.  
“Sorry I didn’t hear you come in” Harry said lamely  
“Don’t be, I should have knocked. Are you okay?” Louis took a step closer his breath catching. He wanted to slap himself for acting like such a weirdo. He had been acting weirdly even since he met Harry but he didn’t know how to stop it.  
“Umm… yeah I’m fine, It’s worse than it looks” Louis found himself tilting his head to the side and biting his lip.  
“Let me see” Harry didn’t move he just stood there embarrassed. Louis grabbed the pillow and removed it from Harry chest trying not to show how concerned he really was.  
“I am going to try something you tell me if it hurts, okay?”  
Louis extended his hands to the space just below Harry’s ribs and pressed down gently. Harry let out a gasp and cringed.  
“Does it hurt really badly?”  
Harry shook his head and Louis continued trailing his fingers across Harry’s skin eventually letting his hands fall.  
“It doesn’t seem to bad maybe some internal bruising but I don’t think you have broken anything” Harry raised an eyebrow before fumbling in his draw for a shirt slipping on a white pajama top.  
“How do you know so much about medical stuff?”  
Louis shrugs “My mum is a nurse I guess some bits rubbed off on me”  
Louis runs his hand through his hair and then gives a sigh. What is it about Harry Styles that makes him want to… he didn’t even know, he just wanted to be close to him and far away from him all at the same time.  
“Here’s your jacket” Harry says extending the piece of black leather Louis shakes his head in return.  
“Keep it”  
“But it’s your dads…”  
“Yeah… well I always hated it anyway. It was never my style and it looks a lot better on you”  
Harry thought about this for a minute and then pulled his arm back. He walked to the window set where his duffle bag sat and pulled out his camera. He walked back to Louis and placed the chunky object in his hand. Louis blue eyes widened as he looked down at it, he wasn’t sure what Harry was doing.  
“Keep it” Harry insisted.  
The camera suddenly felt like a dead weight in his hands he didn’t want to take it because he knew how much it meant to Harry, it seemed like he was giving him a piece of his world or maybe even a piece of himself.  
“I can’t keep this, it’s yours”  
“Think about it this way. Keeping it is a promise” Louis furrowed his brow  
“What type of promise?”  
“It means that you are not just going to drop off the face of the earth and never see me again after tonight. You can give it back the next time we see each other. Deal?”  
A smiled formed on Louis face, “Deal.”  
A devilish smile played of Harry’s lips and his green eyes shimmering brilliantly with mischief. Louis almost saw the cogs churning away in Harry’s mind.  
“You want to do something fun?”  
To this Louis raised an eyebrow wondering what ‘fun’ Harry had in mind at ten o’clock at night.  
“I’m not sure, you look like you are going to make me do something either really crazy or really stupid.”  
Another flash from Harry’s eyes as the boy grabbed his duffle bag it was filled to the point where the zip looked as if it were about to bust. Whatever he had planned Louis was both intrigued and slightly terrified. Louis didn’t know why because he had gone on many late night adventures with Zayn that had ranged from illegal to just plain stupid. Louis had come to know what to expect when he drove up to meet Zayn or when he showed up on his door in the middle or the night. Harry on the other hand could have any number of things that he would consider ‘fun’.  
“It’s probably a bit of both. Have you ever snuck out?”  
“Yeah, loads” It was true, though Louis wouldn’t really call it seeking out. It was more like strolling out the door considering his mother was normally at work and his step dad was either at work, putting his sister to bed or on his own ‘night out’.  
“Well this should come easy then”  
With that Harry strolled over to the window seat and slung his duffle bag over his shoulder. He then swung open the window and stood on the sill positioning himself to jump. Louis eyes widened.  
“What are you doing?”  
“Sneaking out, what does it look like?”  
“You’re not going to jump”  
“Watch me”  
With that he jumped. Louis quickly rushed to the window seat expecting to see the younger boy writhing in pain on the ground or smeared across the grass but he wasn’t instead he was dangling by the skin of his teeth on a large branch jutting out from a tree near the window his breath slightly raged. Harry shimmied alone the branch until his face was inches from the trunk of the tree and a few feet off the ground. He dropped, quite gracefully Louis noted for someone of his size.  
“You coming?” Harry asked looking up, Louis just nods, stunned.  
His breath catches as he stands on the edge of the windowsill. His heart is beating so fast he can hear the thudding in his ear loud like the beating of a drum.  
Thud, thud, thud.  
Breathe Lou, breathe.  
He slung the camera strap over his head and then positioned himself to jump. Louis had never considered himself to be someone who was afraid of heights but then again maybe he was because he could seem to breathe. His whole body seemed to scream in protest as he leaped from the window. It was only when is hands met the bark of a tree that his reflexes kick in.  
Louis gripped the branch for dear life, the bark scraping holes into his flesh. The hander he gripped the angrier the pain in his hands felt.  
“Okay now shimmy down” Harry insisted still sounding far below Louis.  
He dared to look down and cursed at himself for doing so when he saw Harry standing far below him. He felt like cursing but he couldn’t force the words out.  
“I can’t” Louis managed to gasp squinting his eyes shut.  
He found his fingers slipping and his hands began to tremble. He was about to have having a panic attack he really couldn’t think clearly all he could think was that he needed to hold on and not let go.  
“Okay Lou just let go” Harry voice came from closer this time. Louis opened his eyes just enough to see that Harry was now standing directly under him.  
“Are you freaking crazy?” Louis gasped his hands trembling harder now.  
“Just let go I promise you will be fine”  
Louis bit down so hard on his lip he could taste bitter, metallic blood. He released his hands slowly trying to trust Harry. If he had thought that jumping out the window was going to be the hardest part he would have been wrong because letting go of that branch was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life.  
He felt the wind pick up beneath him as he fell letting out a gasp as he slammed into Harry with a thud. Harry caught Louis in his arms and then tumbled to the ground himself. Louis swore he heard a cracking sound when they hit the ground and instantly cringed.  
“Are you okay Haz?” Louis gasped still slightly trembling.  
He realized that Harry too was shaking. Louis rolled off the younger boy wondering if he had hurt him when he fell on top of him hoping that he hadn’t made the bruises ten times worse. Harry was doubled over in the grass wet from the night dew. He shook violently and it was only then that Louis realized he was laughing.  
“You should have seen the look on your face” Harry gasped letting out a loud laugh.  
Louis hit Harry on the shoulder and stood up brushing himself off. He extended a hand to Harry helping him stand. Louis looked at Harry’s camera that was still strung around his neck. It somehow still managed to remain intact.  
“I didn’t know you were afraid of heights,” Harry notes running his hands through his curls and biting his lip. Wow he looked hot when he did that. Not that Louis noticed. Why would he be thinking of Harry like that? He looked away immediately finding his shoes suddenly interesting.  
“I’m not afraid of heights I was just afraid of breaking your camera”  
“I am glad you were concerned about my camera. Now come on follow me”  
“Where are we going?” Louis asked,  
“Don’t be so impatient Lou just wait until we get there.”  
***  
“This it?” Louis asked finally and Harry smiled.  
“Yeah this is it”  
The two boys stood in the middle of a football field lit by the two large stadium lights still left on after the nights earlier game. It had taken then a little more than fifteen minutes to walk there. Most of the time the two boys had been silent just enjoying each other’s company.  
A smile formed on both of their lips as Harry pulled a round football out of his rut sack and kicked it to Louis who stood and stared at it for a minute.  
“You really brought me all the way out here to play football?”  
Harry nodded.  
Louis then gave a little smirk placing Harry’s camera on top of the rut sack before he extended his leg and kicked the ball. He quickly ran to the other side of the field where the goal posts resided. He gave one quick kick and it soared into the goal before Harry even had time to reach him.  
“Wow… you have to teach me how to do that.” Harry gasped doubling over breathing heavily.  
Louis kicked the ball back to Harry then placed his hands on his hips embracing his inner coach.  
“Okay then Styles show me what you’ve got”  
Harry looked down at the ball and gave a little sigh. He lined up it up then ran forward putting his whole heart into the kick. It sored through the air forcefully about to fly into the goal when Louis’s hand shot up grabbing it from midair. Harry let out a groan.  
“Hey, no fair! Let me have my moment.” Harry insisted bursting out laughing  
“I never said I was going to be easy on you Styles, now do it again!” Louis threw the ball back to Harry still smiling playfully.  
“Did anyone tell you that you are a hard arse coach Tomlinson?” Harry retorted a smile crinkling the corners of his lips.  
Harry stood back and kicked again and again until Louis decided to give his a run for his money and actually play a game. Louis beat him of course but he had to admit Harry was better at football than Louis would have expected him to be and considering he was in his pajamas with only the skinny black jeans he had thrown over him to kept the cold wind from biting into the younger boys flesh. Louis had to admit the kid had spirit. After about an hour of this both boys were utterly exhausted. Harry fell to his knees on the grass gasping and clutching his sides. Louis reached over to Harry’s rut sack and pulled out his camera looking through the lens with one eye and snapping the photo before Harry could realize what he was doing. At the flash Harry looked up his green eyes meeting Louis and he found himself smiling slightly.  
“You are deleting that.” Harry insisted making a move for the camera.  
Louis rolled out of the way and plastered a cheeky smile on his face.  
“But I can’t delete it. Photos are like memories Haz, you can’t just delete a memory”  
Harry let out a laugh and lunged over to Louis snatching the camera out of his grip and spinning it around to taking several snapshots of Louis.  
“Don’t use my own words against me Lou” Harry warned snapping another.  
This time Louis went for it, jumping on top of the younger boy and prying the camera from his hands and tossing it to the side. He was again painfully aware of the distance or lack thereof between him and Harry. His eyes met Harry’s for a split second then trailed to his lips.  
When he looks at me like that it makes me want to kiss him. Louis though but  
before he could do anything that he regret he felt something wet fall onto the nape of his neck.  
He rolled off of Harry and lay beside him in the grass. Harry’s lips parted as if he were going to say something but just then a large rain drop fell from the sky hitting him smack in the forehead. Harry reached up to touch the spot where the drop had landed another drop fell and suddenly the two boys were being pounded by ice-cold rain. The both began to shiver almost instantly. Harry jumped up shaking off the rain from his hair slightly resembling a dog in his movements.  
“Race you back!” He yelled running quickly in the direction of his house.  
Louis was on his heels and quickly gaining pace. The two boys were sprinting in the storm their feet slipping in the mud and splashing it up at their faces but it felt good.  
It took half to get back as it had to come though they were both soaking wet and wide eyed. Louis looked up at Harry’s bedroom window wondering how in hell they were going to get back up there. Harry on the other hand seemed to know exactly what to do.  
He leaned his body against the outside of the house pressing his back in as tightly as possible so the rain didn’t flow down onto him then looked over at Louis cupping his hands together. Louis looked at them wide eyed.  
“Climb up” Harry insisted by Louis shook his head  
“Hell no. It’s slippery and I could fall”  
“You won’t fall.” Harry instead as Louis tediously placed both hands on Harry’s shoulders then climbed onto Harry cupped hands as he boosted him up so his fingertips just touched the windowsill.  
“If I fall I will never forgive you” Louis insisted.  
“You won’t fall” Harry returned again as Louis clamber into Harry bedroom window. Harry threw up his rut sack then sized up the tree taking each step carefully. This time he did slip, several times in fact the rain pouring down on him heavily but he somehow managed to reach the branch that led to the window. Harry crawled across dreading the moment he knew he would have to jump for the window. Louis held his breath as he watched the younger boy jump onto to the window seat his white tee shirt soaked with rain had become see through and Louis couldn’t help but stair.  
“I told you it would be fun” He insists with a smile.  
“I also told you it would be crazy and really stupid… which it was”  
“Then everyone got what they wanted” Harry flashes a relaxed smile.  
“Yeah, I guess we did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there you go, some mini romance for you. It continues in the next chapter too. Truthfully chapter 4 and five were kind of meant to be one big chapter but I thought it would be a little too long, so here you go anyway.


	5. Stay the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Louis spend their last night together before Louis goes back to Doncaster but it isn't goodbye just yet.

“Are you going to have a shower?” Louis asked looking at his friends soaking wet body. No, really trying not to look at it.   
“No I will wake up my mum” He simply moved through his draws until he found another shirt and slipped the wet one off, throwing it into the far corner of the room. He pulled on the new shirt and pried himself out of his skinny jeans.   
“Are you going to go to the spare room?” Harry didn’t use any sarcasm when he asked, he seemed as if he generally wanted to know. Louis didn’t know what to make of this considering all the strange thoughts that had been popping in and out of his head all night but he guessed one night couldn’t hurt after all it would probably be his last night with the younger boy for a while. Louis was going to miss him. He was going to miss him more that it seemed logical to miss a person you had only known for two days but there was something about Harry and Louis relationship that made him think he had known the boy for so much longer. The past two days had just been some kind of crazy rollercoaster, which Louis would be hopping off tomorrow morning, but he didn’t want it to be over, he had one night left.   
“No, I might wake Anne” Harry smiled as if he were genuinely pleased the Louis was staying.   
Harry threw a shirt his way and smirked,  
“I can’t have you cold, you know?” Louis remembered his own words as Harry quoted them. Could it have only been a night since he had said them? It felt like an eternity.   
Louis pulled off his shirt and swore he saw Harry looking his eyes trailing up and down Louis body but when he faced the younger boy he was looking out the large window. It must have been a trick of the light.   
He balled up his jeans and threw then to the corner of the room never feeling so exposed as he did then, which was strange because he wasn’t really an insecure type of guy. He suddenly felt so self-conscious it was almost crippling.   
Harry didn’t seem to notice he just pulled down the covers and climbed into the far side of his bed. Louis did the same taking the side closest to the door.   
Harry let out a small yawn flicking off his bedside lamp and letting his eyes drift closed. Louis tried to do the same but his heart seemed to be beating to fast and his mind wouldn’t stop thinking no matter how hard he tried to silence it. Louis opened his eyes to see the younger boy fast asleep. Harry’s face looked much younger when he slept and the way he curled into himself make him look a lot smaller than he would normally. It also made him look very venerable.   
Louis should stop looking, that’s was he told himself anyway. That he should stop being a total and utter creep and just stop looking but when he closed his eyes he felt Harry move closer his hand extending to Louis side of the bed, his head somehow finding its way onto Louis shoulder. Harry’s fingers were like ice even between the fabrics of Louis shirt he felt the cold biting into him. Harry let out a little sigh as he made contact with Louis warm skin curling beside the older boy grabbing the fabric of his tee shirt. Louis didn’t really know what to do at this point so he just shut his eyes and lay still. Just before drifting off to sleep he hear Harry whisper something so silent he wasn’t sure if he heard him correctly.   
“Lou?”   
Louis grunted in response opening his eyes to look at Harry. He seemed be sound asleep.  
“You can’t leave now, okay?”   
Harry must have been sleep talking because he didn’t wait for Louis to respond.  
“You are a good person you know that?” Harry whispered again.   
“And you know how to laugh. You also know how to sing, you should do it more often”   
Louis smiled to himself now sure the boy was sleep talking. Louis let his eyes shut again listening to the younger boys constant rambling, his voice soothing him into sleep.   
***  
Louis woke up to the familiar droning of his wake up alarm. An upbeat tune was blasting loud and irritating from somewhere close by. He gave a small groan wanting to sit up but finding that there was a dead weight on his chest. Louis opened his eyes and saw Harry still fast asleep his pale pink lips puckered. Louis located the sound of the alarm coming from his jeans pocket, still scrunched into a tiny ball in the corner of the room.   
“Haz” Louis mumbled and watched the younger boy begin to move slowly his eyes opening, then his brow furrowed. His eyes trailed up Louis chest and then to the older boy’s eyes. He instantly shot up into a sitting position and blushed. The bruise on his cheek was less notable than the day before.   
“Oh… sorry Lou, I didn’t mean to… I mean I…”   
“It’s fine I just wanted to tell you that I’ve got to go” Harry furrowed his brow again.  
“Already?” Louis let out a laugh.  
“It’s Monday sunshine I’m already going to miss half the day of school driving and you need to get ready anyway” Louis stood up crossing the room and grabbing his jeans. He reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone and turn off his alarm. He was begging to question where the ‘sunshine’ came from. It wasn’t something Louis normally used in everyday conversation but then again it was early maybe he was still half asleep.   
“So does this mean goodbye?” Harry asked standing now too.   
His hair hung in a curly mess around his face coving his jade green eyes. Louis bit his lip not knowing what to say and then he caught sight of it. Harry’s camera sat on the window seat. Louis scooped it up and smiled down at it his eyes lighting up.  
“No, this means see you soon.” Louis looked up at the younger boy and smiled.  
He turned on his heels and went to collect his stuff from the spare room then silently walked outside to his car. Anne was still sleeping so Louis didn’t expect to be disturbed again, he wished he could stay longer but if he did he might not be able to leave.   
When Louis slid into the drivers seat he heard the front door of the house slam making him jump. Harry stood at the car window in Louis jacket pounding on the glass. Louis wound down the window and smiled at the younger boy who was painting slightly.  
“Lou… I was just thinking that I didn’t have your number and I was wondering if maybe we could… talk or… I mean if you want…” Harry was fumbling with his words.  
“Harry are you asking me for my number?” Louis asked raising an eyebrow a smile finding its way onto his lips as Harry froze then turned bright red, blush filled his cheeks.   
“I just meant that… well… maybe it was stupid… I” Louis let out a laugh thinking about how Harry was suddenly so nervous for some odd reason.  
“Harry”  
“Yeah?”   
“Look in the jacket pocket” Louis instructed.  
Harry shoved his hands into the pocket pulling out a small piece of paper with Louis number scrolled on the back.  
“When did you put that in there?” Harry asks raising an eyebrow.   
“When I gave you the jacket. You didn’t seriously think I would go without having a way to talk to you again Haz, I told you it’s not goodbye. It’s a see you soon. Now I really have to go or else my coach will kill me if I don’t make it back in time for practice.”   
“Bye Lou”  
“Bye Haz”   
Just like that Harry stood back and let Louis drive away it felt strange to leave Harry, it was like he was leaving a part of himself behind, he didn’t like it.   
***  
Louis was back at Doncaster just in time for fifth and sixth period, double chemistry. Louis really didn’t feel like delving into the difference the structure of a covalent and ionic compound at this point in time. So instead he dragged it out for as long as possible. He went to the bathroom fixing his hair and tries to make himself look at least somewhat presentable. He slides in his contact lenses and tries to pull off his usual cocky demeanor but today he just wasn’t in it. He still forced himself out the bathroom slinging his backpack over his shoulder and finding his way down the twisting halls and strolling into chemistry fashionably late.  
“Tomlinson, Where is your uniform?”   
Shit.   
Louis had totally forgotten about his uniform. He had left it at home not thinking he would have gotten back so late.  
“I… I didn’t want to miss another second of your wonderful lesson Ms. Peters so I ran straight here.”   
He put the right amount of sarcasm and sincerity into his words giving his teacher a sullen glare as he strolled passed the middle aged woman going to take his normal set in the back row next to El. The only problem was someone was in his seat a blonde haired boy with slightly crooked teeth and laughing blue eyes. He was about to go up and demand the boy to move when Ms. Peters voice from behind him.   
“Louis, sit up the front please” Louis cringed as she pronounced his name, Lewis just for the simple fact that she knew he hated it.   
He plunked down next to Andrew he was Louis favorite on the football team at the moment so he didn’t complain too much. Andrew saw the way Louis was death glaring the mystery blonde, which Louis now noticed was obviously dyed because his roots were showing brown.   
“Cool down mate before you jump across the table and murder him.” Andrew ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair and tapped his pencil on the counter top.   
“Don’t tell me. I was gone for two days and she is fucking him already.” Louis voice came a bit sharper than he had meant it to be.   
He wished he had stayed at Harry’s, he wished the they had both skipped school and sat in Harry’s light blue room, relaxing on the window set listening to Harry’s album collection and talking about photos or football.  
“What is up with you today Lou? Did that Zayn kid get you on a bender or what?”   
“No, not Zayn this time. I just went to a concert and met this kid. Zayn tried to corrupt him and he stayed the night. Then I drove him home and somehow I ended up staying the night in Holmes Chapel.”   
Andrew raised his eyebrows and gave a knowing smile.  
“What?” Louis asked   
“Oh nothing… I was just wondering if you were the one who tried to corrupt the kids innocence”   
Louis choked on the breath he had been midway through. His eyes snapped from the board to meet Andrew’s hazel eyes.  
“What?” He gasped again.  
“Forget it”   
“I did mention that the kid was a guy, right?” what was Andrew suggesting?  
“Yeah I know. I just always kind of thought…” His voice trailed off as if he didn’t want to continue the conversation but Louis wasn’t going to let that drop so easily.  
“You thought what?”   
“It’s nothing really I just thought the way you always let El hook up with other guys you didn’t really care about-”   
“I don’t let El hook up with other guys. She does that all on her own!”   
Louis cut him off his voice causing everyone to turn and face him. He must have gotten a little too worked up.  
Before the teacher could yell at him or Andrew could say anything to make things worse a loud bell sounded and Louis stormed out of the room, he sure as hell wasn’t going to go to football training after that. Screw Andrew, screw his opinion, screw El, screw that stupid blonde haired boy and just screw everyone. His feet slammed against the concrete floor but before he could reach the front door he heard a voice cut through the mummers of the crowd.  
“Lou!” Eleanor’s shrill voice came.  
She seemed as if she were quickening her pace. He looked over his shoulder to see his girlfriend running quickly in her school uniform down the hallway. If he was in a normal mood he might have admired the way her skirt tended to rise up above her thy when she ran showing a slightly paler patch of skin but not today, his mood had suddenly dropped from the high he had been on following the weekend.  
He finally stopped waiting for El to catch up to him, when she did she brushed beads of sweat from her forehead and smiled.  
“Hi stranger” She adds a casual tone in her voice,  
“Hey” Is all he can muster   
“Is something wrong Lou?”  
Yes   
“No, I’m fine”   
“Does it have to do with Niall? I only offered for him to sit next to me because it was his first day”   
Niall, that was the blonde boys name.  
“No, El for once this isn’t about you!” He must have been too harsh because El cringed looking down at her feet and giving a little scowl.  
“Sorry… I didn’t mean that It’s just Andrew said some shit back there that pissed me off that all”   
“So you’re fighting with Andrew now too? What do you have a goal to piss of the whole football team? Anyway seems your weekend escape didn’t work I have the perfect thing to cheer you up.” She didn’t wait for him to respond,  
“I am throwing a party Friday, come for once. You can bring anyone you want, even that pain in the arse who doesn’t seem to have a home”   
Zayn. El has met him once or twice and every time they found a way to insult each other. Louis really didn’t want to go to another stupid party but then again he never did.   
“Okay, I might actually take you up on that offer. It might be fun.”   
El smiles wrapping her arms around Louis neck and dragging him down so their lips meet a smile forming on her lips. It wasn’t bad. She tasted like strawberry lip-gloss and mint toothpaste. Not bad at all but it was only the sensation of a kiss, nothing more. His heart didn’t stir like it was supposed to. He had never notice it before but he did now. Was it just that he wasn’t in the mood or did he never feel anything when they kissed? He didn’t remember but he tried to fake a smile. It looked fake a forced.   
“Okay, I really have to go El but I will call you later tonight.”   
Louis had to get away from her. He rushed back to his car sliding into the drivers set and fiddled with the stereo system, he didn’t know where he was going or what he planed to do when he got there but he did know he couldn’t drive home just yet. So instead he turned to music to give him some kind of comfort. He stopped at a station where the familiar tune of my list by The Killers blasting through his speakers cracking a slight smile. He loved The Killers though he didn’t tend to admit it much considering the only thing most people his age listened to was what was topping the charts. Sometimes he appreciated the comfort of turning on The Killers and listening to the mix of instruments and powerful vocals. He began to drive turning street after familiar street going in circles several times making up excuses about why he didn’t show up to practice. The choirs of the song cut in beginning with a powerful thud of drum and strumming of the guitar he wanted to get lost, drowning out his thoughts. But they still kept coming back Andrew would probably cover him. He better, it would be the least he could do. Louis couldn’t even imagine why Andrew had thought Louis was gay. The word sounded dirty in his thoughts his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. Why would he think that? Okay sure Louis was one of the only guys who had decided to continue doing drama into his senior year but still that didn’t make him gay.   
Maybe the fact that he almost wanted to kiss Harry in the rain might have said something though. Louis pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He had been over tired that was all. It didn’t mean anything, nothing.   
Louis almost wanted to call Harry but he couldn’t work out why, he just wanted to hear his voice. That voice that was slow and husky, the voice that sounded mature for his age, it had been the voice that had whispered to him in his sleep.  
“You are a good person you know that?”   
“And you know how to laugh.”  
“You also know how to sing you should do it more often”   
Louis heart skipped at beat and he felt something flutter in his heart. That wasn’t supposed to happen he loved El.   
But the thing is he didn’t love her.   
She didn’t love him.  
“So why are you together?” Harry’s words echoed in his head as he stared straight at the road.   
The song had changed he hadn’t been listening until now. It seemed like even his stereo was against him. He caught a few lines of Tiny Vessels by Death Cab for Cutie. That was enough for him to want out of the car, now. 

“You touch her skin and then you think, that she is beautiful but she don't mean a thing to me.” 

Shut up, shut up, shut up.   
Louis turned the wheel heading for home. That stupid song kept playing. Was the world really against him?

“So when you ask,  
‘Is something wrong?  
I think you’re damn right there is but we can’t talk about it now’” 

He had to stop thinking. Stop thinking right now. He shut off the stereo and pulled up at his house. He just wanted to lie down in his bed and lay there until he stopped thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, thanks for sticking with me this long. It is getting back to a angst again but I promise you there will be a Larry kiss within the next few chapters.   
> Another side note it helps to listen to the music mentioned in the story. I know some people might not like to listen to music when reading but other people do so suit yourself I guess :D


	6. See you soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Louis have gone back to their normal lives but that doesn't mean that everything is back to normal.

Harry sat at a crowded lunch table picking apart bits of bread and nibbling on them quietly. It was lunch and he was waiting for Liam to show up. Liam was a year ahead of Harry so he never got to see him apart from lunch and meeting for the school magazine. He wanted to tell Liam about how crazy his weekend was but he wasn’t sure where to start, he went over the events in his mind ruling out the things he should and shouldn’t tell Liam.  
He should definitely mention how awesome the concert was and how the band sounded just as good in real life unlike most artists. Should he tell him about the fact that Gemma left him at the concert? Should he mention that he had to go to a stranger’s party with a boy he barely knew to try and find her only to in return end up getting punched until he was blue and bloody? Would it help if he said he has to drunk to feel it? No telling him that would not help at all.  
Harry reached up and touched his cheek. It didn’t hurt very much anymore but it was still noticeable. Some kids in class had commented on it but Harry had just shrugged it off saying things like,  
“Oh it’s nothing I just got hit with a football”  
“I started self defense class”   
“It got really wild in the mosh pit”   
Wow. He really needed to get his story straight. Harry couldn’t lie to Liam though, because Liam would know he was lying. Harry was probably the worst liar in history and lying to his best friend would just make him seem stupid because the truth was he couldn’t lie, even Louis had notice that when he covered for Harry and convinced his mum that his bruises were nothing. Harry heard the seat in front of him get screeching against the polished floor. He looked up to see Liam smiling down at him his hair fairly straight plaster down on his face though the ends were beginning to curl. Liam’s smile changed quickly to a frown when he caught Harry’s eye.  
“What happened to your face?”   
“Hello to you too”   
“Sorry that was offensive I just meant… wow, that looks like it hurt”   
Harry reached up and touched his face again feeling very self-conscious. Liam reached out to touch the bruise.   
“What happened?”   
Liam’s hands were cold when he touched Harry’s cheek and he had to suppress a shiver.  
He couldn’t lie to Liam.  
“I got punched” Liam dropped his hand and the apple he had been holding. It rolled off the tabletop and onto the floor.  
“Someone punched you in the face?”   
State the obvious much? Harry thought bitterly pushing his tray away from him no longer hungry.  
“Yeah, and the ribs and the stomach.”   
“What happened… wait were is your camera? You always have your camera with you… god don’t tell me you get mugged. I should have gone to the concert with you. I knew something like this could happen”   
Liam’s brown eyes turned serious and he kept rambling. Harry had to laugh Liam was the protective type. Harry swore Liam was the older brother he never had. Liam always seemed to have this urgent need to protect Harry, maybe it was just the fact that Harry was his only friend and he was a really loyal type of guy, Harry wasn’t sure why but he did find Liam’s break down very funny.   
“Liam I wasn’t mugged calm down!”   
“Then what happened?” Harry sighed and told Liam everything.  
He told him about the party and how Ryan had left his body blackened and bruised. He had even told Liam about Louis and how he had practically save his arse several times in one night.   
Well maybe not everything.   
He told Liam he left his camera at the party. Harry wasn’t sure why but he had the feeling that if Liam knew that he had given Louis his camera he would be hurt. Harry normally didn’t let people touch his camera or look at what was on it but he had just willingly given it to Louis without a second thought. When he was finished his story Liam sat back in his seat and gave a little laugh.  
“What are you laughing at?”  
“I was just thinking how nothing exciting ever happens to you then you tell me this”  
“You find things way too funny Li” Harry said simply.  
A few minutes later the bell sounded and it was time for everyone to head back to class. Harry didn’t want to go, he wanted to stay and talk to Liam but sadly advanced English was calling his name.  
“Walk with me afterschool, yeah?”   
Liam scooped up his books and looked down at his watch struggling to carry them with his lunch tray and backpack.   
“Yeah.” 

School passed like any other day. Harry spent most of his time scribbling in his notebook and not paying very much attention to any of his lessons but somehow still managing to answer all the questions correctly when he was asked. He met up this Liam and they both walked to Harry house together making small talk.  
“So are you sad you lost you camera?” Liam asked when they were about halfway to Harry’s house.  
“Not really, I suppose things just have a habit of showing up. At least I hope so”  
Harry smiled to himself.  
“So do you think you will ever talk to the guy again?” Liam asks and Harry simply shrugs,  
“He gave me his number but I don’t want to bother him”  
Harry looked down at his feet and when he looked back at Liam he was giving him this strange knowing look.   
“He gave it to you for a reason Haz, do you ever have these types of debates with yourself before you call me? If so I am worried for you.”   
Harry gave a little smile. He never hesitated before calling Liam, he was always there, he would always know that Liam pick up the phone and be glad Harry called but with Louis it was more the fear of rejection than anything. Harry had never felt this way about anyone and this made him feel even more uncomfortable.   
“I just don’t want to sound like some weird fifteen year old”  
“Not meaning to burst you bubble but you are a weird fifteen year old Haz”   
Harry’s jaw dropped and he pretended to look hurt. He flung out his hand smacking Liam on the shoulder as he let out a loud laugh.   
They had just rounded the corner when the two boys heard the screaming. At first they hadn’t thought much of it but as soon as Harry caught sight of his house he knew something very bad was going on. Gemma stood in the doorway of their house her eyes red and puffy. Ryan stood on her doorstep his eyes blazing with fury. Bruises covered most of his body and one of his eyes was swollen shut. Louis had said Zayn took care of Ryan but wholly crap Harry had never expected him to mean it so literally it was slightly terrifying. He made a mental note to make sure he never hot on Zayn’s bad side.   
“Did you do that?” Liam whispered as they approached.  
Harry shook his head still in shock of what he was seeing.  
“Come on Gemma let me in” Ryan begged in his low tone.  
“No Ryan I said to get the hell out! I never want to see you again, or talk to you and if you so much as lay a hand on my brother I swear to god Ryan I will have you arrested!” She was about to slam the door in his face when he stuck his foot out preventing it from shutting. She shoved harder cursing loudly her eyes growing wide with panic. Harry quickly ran to his sister’s aid, Liam hot on his heels. He fumbled up the porch steps and shoved Ryan forcefully out of the doorway, this time unlike the last he did move stubbing back against the railing.  
“Get away from my sister!” He yelled by this point he was standing in the doorway protecting his sister with his body, he may hate his sister half the time but he always loved her at the back of his mind (yes even when he hated her he loved her, though he still wasn’t sure how that worked). It didn’t matter how he felt about her in that moment he still wanted to protect her.   
“Harry get inside” Gemma whispered in a sharp tone.   
Liam was etching himself towards the doorway too. The atmosphere was so tense you could feel it in the air. Harry was about to enter the house when Ryan spat out words so vile they made Harry heart sink.  
“Not so tough now with out your boyfriend and his guard dog are you Styles?”   
Harry clenched his jaw and tightened his fists into small balls besides his body making his knuckles turn white. He took a swing for Ryan, this time he wasn’t drunk, this time he wasn’t hesitant, his time he was super pissed and this time it had hurt like hell.   
His fist made a deafening thud as he hit Ryan straight in the jaw. The older boy spun back clutching the railings and spitting out a spray of blood.   
“Come near my sister again and I swear to god I will do worse” Harry filled his words with as much venom he could before dragging Liam inside and letting the door slam shut. Both Gemma and Liam starred at him wide eyed. Gemma looked like she was on the verge of crying and Harry wasn’t sure whether to comfort her or to give her space. Why were girls always so complicated?  
“I… I’m sorry,” He whispered looking down at his hand stained with blood and trembling.   
“Just leave me alone for a second, okay?” Gemma covered her face in her hands. She walked into the living room leaving Harry and Liam standing in the entryway. He met Liam’s eyes and soon his whole body began to tremble. Had he really just done that? He had just punched someone. Harry was about as violent as a puppy but he had just lost it. Really lost it. Why had he lost it? He had been totally sober and he had punched someone. Tears pricked in his eyes, Ryan deserved it. Harry had to keep telling himself that so he didn’t have a break down. He deserved it. He deserved it.  
“Come on Haz lets get you cleaned up”   
Liam led Harry to his upstairs bathroom taking Harry’s hand and running it under the warm water sending shots of pain through his knuckles. Harry bit down on his lip looking up at himself in the mirror hating how helpless he looked.   
“I don’t condone violence but Harry that guy was asking for it” Harry didn’t respond he just walked back to his bedroom lying down on his bed and covering his face in his pillow. Liam sat down on the edge of the bed giving a sigh.  
“If you didn’t do it I would have” Harry gave a slight smile at this and Liam beamed back.  
“You should call Louis” Liam adds out of nowhere which makes Harry raise an eyebrow removing the pillow from his face.  
“Why?”   
Liam looks down at his watch and scowls.  
“I kind of have a music lesson in fifteen minutes and I can’t cancel or my parents will kill me but I don’t feel right leaving… maybe I should stay a little longer.”  
Harry shakes his head not wanting to be an inconvenience, that was another thing about Liam he would almost always put other before himself and Harry felt like a selfish friend every time he would do so.  
“No Li it’s fine, you go I’ll call Louis and tell him he has the job of replacing you as my best friend for the day”   
Liam picked up a pillow from Harry’s bed and flung it at Harry’s face a wide smile reaching his lips.   
“He would never replace me!”   
“Oh I don’t know Liam, you are getting a bit slack lately” Liam ran his hands through Harry’s curls and smiled,  
“Carful Haz you might deserve to be punched in the face next”   
“No, not the face anything but the face” Harry broke out laughing as Liam picked his backpack off of the floor and walked out of his bedroom, before exiting he turned and gave a wide smile.  
“Don’t put it off Harry if you are going to call him just call him” Harry sighed and pulled off his phone from his pocket and dialed Louis number into his phone.  
“I’m dialing okay Liam? Now go!”   
Liam smiled and disappeared out of the house, his feet echoing on the staircase. Louis picked up the phone after three long rings.  
“What?” Was all Louis said bitterly as he answered the phone and Harry felt worry creeping into his subconscious. Maybe he shouldn’t have called. It was a little late now to just hang up the phone so he took a deep breath and sighed.  
“Hello to you too.” Harry swore he heard Louis let out a breath,  
“Shit Haz sorry, I thought you were someone else”   
“Bad day huh?”   
“You don’t know the half of it”   
“Would it help if I told you I punched Ryan in the face again today”   
It was silent on the other end of the line for a long time until he heard Louis begin to laugh.  
“Did you break his not-so–pretty little face?”   
Harry laughed then too though he hadn’t found anything funny at the time now it suddenly seemed very funny.  
“I don’t think it was possible to mess it up anymore than Zayn did but anyway, what’s your problem?”   
“Nothing really I just got really pissed off at one of my friends… because he said some stuff about… El and I among other things and I kind of stormed out of class, missed practice and got screamed at by both my parents and my coach”   
“Wow that sucks” It was a very lame response but it was all Harry could think of.  
“Yeah, it does. Hey, I’m glad you called though. I was wondering if you wanted to go to a party in Doncaster on Friday”   
Was Louis really asking Harry to come to a party with him? Harry hadn’t expected to see Louis for god knows how long but the prospect of seeing him again made his heart race. He needed to act casual about it.  
“Oh, yeah… Sounds good but I don’t know how I can get there”   
“Zayn can drive you. You can bring Liam too if you want.” Louis answered a little too quickly which made Harry smile slightly.  
“Yeah, okay. I will see you there.”   
“Okay, see you soon Curly”  
“See you Lou”   
Harry heard the line go dead and he smiled falling back onto his bed. Before he even had time to think about the party a knock came at his door and he looked up to see Gemma standing in the doorway.   
“Can I come in?” She asks quietly.  
Harry bites his lip and nods. She makes her way to the end of his bed and sits down a small smile finding it’s way onto her face.  
“Where you talking to Louis?”   
Harry had almost forgotten the Gemma and Louis had talked the night Harry slept at Zayn’s it seemed strange that Gemma would mention him.   
“Yeah it was” She gave a sad smile.  
“I’m sorry about everything. I didn’t mean for things to go this far, you are my little brother I should be the one looking after you but I am doing a pretty lousy job at it”   
Harry shook his head wondering the last time when Gemma sat down and talked to him like this. He thought it was when their dad left but that was a long time ago. He didn’t understand why she was looking at him so intently.   
“You are doing a good job Gem” was all Harry could think to say. Gemma smiled at her brother and bit her lip. It was a habit they both shared.   
“Harry I was wondering… was why Ryan said true?”   
Harry looked down at his hands and furrowed his brow. What Gemma seriously asking what he thought she was? Worse of all there was a part of him that told him the answer wasn’t as black and white as she wanted it to be. Harry didn’t answer but Gemma still continued.   
“If you are, I just wanted you to know it’s okay Harry. If you ever want anyone to talk to I am here, I am your sister and no matter I will be there for you okay?”   
Harry just nodded not sure how to respond.  
“So do you want to talk about anything?” She asks and Harry has to think about that. Gemma never offered to talk. He wasn’t sure what to say.  
“Well… can you promise me something?” Harry asks and Gemma nods.  
“No more douche bag boyfriends, okay?”  
Gemma gives out a high-pitched laugh,  
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Larry kiss coming everyone I repeat Larry kiss is coming...  
> Don't forget to comment and Kudos if you like it, it would be really appreciated!


	7. Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment with Louis was just like the light on the side of the highway. Just like a falling star. It was an intense blaze that Harry knew would soon enough disappear into oblivion. They had a moment then it would be gone. He wanted to live in it forever.

“Are you sure you want me to come?”   
“Yes.”   
“Positive?”  
“For god sakes Liam yes now hurry up!”   
Harry gave a sigh and pushed his best friends duffle bag to the side. His eyes widen.   
“Are you sure you need all this Li?” Harry picks the object up weighing it in his hands. It feels like it is stuffed with bricks.   
It was Friday night Harry and Liam were getting ready to go to Doncaster. Zayn had just texted Harry to say he would be there in a few minutes and Liam (as usual) was on the verge of a panic attack. He was the most awkward person at parties and that was when he actually knew the people who would be there, this time Liam was super nervous.   
“I really don’t want to go” Liam complains shoving something that looks like a small first aid kit into his bag.  
“God Liam you have to come you promised you would! Now stop packing crap and come meet Zayn.”   
Harry could see the car pulling up in front of Liam’s house. It wasn’t exactly what Harry had expected Zayn to drive. It was a dark blue truck in fairly good condition but only three sets, great.   
“What if Zayn doesn’t like me?” Liam asks finally stopping packing and slinging his bag over his shoulder.   
“Then you might end up like Ryan” Liam froze.  
“Zayn did that?” His brown eyes widened and Harry had to fight the urge to laugh.  
“Yes now get your arse down stairs before he does it to you too”   
Liam shoved his hands into his jacket pocket and made his way down stairs. He hesitated for a second when he reached the front door. He swung it open seeing Zayn in a leather jacket and dark grey jeans his hair scooped up into a quiff. It was now stained with a blonde streak. Harry hadn’t remembered that being there last time.   
“Hi.” Liam says awkwardly running his fingers through his hair. It was curlier that normal today and Liam had cursed saying how much he needed to cut it.   
“Hello, friend of curly-haired-boy who Louis won’t stop talking about” Liam extended a hand tediously.  
“Liam”  
“Zayn”   
Harry peeked his head out from behind Liam and added,  
“Curly-haired-boy has a name.”  
“No one asked what it was Harry, I wished I could forget your name but I think Louis has mentioned it at least twice and that’s just today.”  
Did Louis really talk about Harry that much?   
Harry felt a red blush rise in his cheeks and he flipped his hair over his face to try and cover it.   
“Yeah well sorry about that I guess Lou and I have been talking a bit since he left”   
Liam let out a laugh seeming slightly more comfortable.   
“A bit? Harry you have been calling him every night and texting him between every period, it is borderline clingy behavior”   
Zayn laughed at this too looking at Liam with a strange spark in his dark eyes,  
“Isn’t it the worst when you are mid conversation and all he can focus on his is his phone!” Zayn adds,  
“And then he smiles and says something like, Lou just sent me the funniest photo,” Liam continues.  
“Or Haz just showed me this new song, you have to listen to it”   
Harry felt like shrinking into the wall he pressed himself back against it harder and harder. When did he become the third wheel?  
He looked over his shoulder at the clock in Liam’s kitchen. It was six thirty, the party started at eight.   
“Not to interrupt your little bonding session but we need to get going if we want to be there on time”   
Liam looked over at Harry as if he had totally forgot he was there, Zayn on the other hand let out a sigh and spun on his heels twisting his keys between his thumb and forefinger.   
“No one ever wants to be on time to a party Harry”   
He opens the car and waits for Liam and Harry to get in. They exchange glances trying to decide who would get the roomy window set and who would be crushed between the two other boys. Harry leaned into Liam and whispered in his ear with a small smile toying at the corners of his mouth,  
“I’m claustrophobic you first” Harry gave Liam a little shove. He scooted down next to Zayn, shoving his bag into the glove compartment. Harry took the window set winding it down. The whole car reeked of cigarettes and aftershave much like Zayn’s apartment. Harry was surprise Zayn was old enough to smoke or to drive for that matter. Though something in the back of his mind told him he probably wasn’t old enough to do either. Zayn pressed down lightly on the gas and pulled the throttle towards himself. For a while it was silent the only noise to be heard was breathing and Michel Jackson’s greats hits blaring from the stereo system. Zayn’s eyes flickered off the road for a minute as he reached down and pulled a cigarette out of his jacket pocket and a lighter from the glove compartment.   
“Do you mind?” Zayn asked raising an eyebrow.  
Harry shook his head but Liam spoke up,   
“Not if you don’t mind dying at thirty from lung cancer” Zayn puckered his lips and placed the cigarette in his mouth about to light it when he gave a sigh and shoved it pack into it’s pack.   
“Live a little Liam” Zayn gives a sigh and Harry lets out a small chuckle.  
Liam elbowed Harry hard in the stomach hitting a tender spot that still hadn’t completely healed from his fight with Ryan. He bit down on his tongue to stop himself from laughing harder.   
“So I heard you punched that prick from the party” Zayn says trying to make conversation.   
“Yeah he did it was brilliant” Liam adds going back to his original tactic of trying to embarrass Harry.  
“I didn’t think he would be asking for more after the beating I gave him” Zayn adds this time making Liam shift uncomfortably.  
“At least maybe that will stop him from sleeping around behind his girlfriends back, it’s immoral. That’s why I don’t have a girlfriend they aren’t worth it.”   
Harry wasn’t paying much attention to what Zayn was saying he was to excited for the prospect of possibly seeing Louis again, talking to someone in person in a lot different to over the phone or text message. The lights of the highway were hypnotizing Harry. He watched one light after another speed past like falling stars blazing brightly then disappearing into oblivion.   
“You don’t have a girlfriend because you like to sleep around?” The concept seemed foreign to Liam.  
“Something like that”  
“Isn’t it lonely though? Wouldn’t it be better to have someone who actually love you?”   
The corners of Zayn’s mouth quirked up in amusement and he looked at Liam out of the corner of his eye.  
“You obviously haven’t had sex” Liam blushed and looked down.  
“It looks like I have two boys to corrupt tonight. Tell me Li have you even kissed a girl?” Liam continued to look down at his hands and Harry felt sorry for his friend. He had never really been with anyone seriously and that was probably very weird in Zayn’s mind. It even seemed strange to Harry that a sixteen-year-old boy like Liam had never been in a relationship, he was fairly fit and had this puppy like quality in his features. Sometimes Harry thought that Liam had chosen to never have a girlfriend though he wasn’t sure why.   
“Oh, that’s precious. We are going to change that tonight Liam”   
Liam looked wide-eyed at Harry for help. What was so terrifying about girls to Liam? Harry didn’t think he would ever know.   
“Lay off Zayn, he doesn’t need to kiss a girl just to impress you.”  
“Fine but I am getting at least one of you drunk tonight, it will be my only fun considering I am going to have to be sober enough to drive the two of you back once this is over, speaking of which, we are there”   
There was no longer light leading to the oblivion but a house on the end of a quiet street. There even more people then the last party Harry had gone to. Cars were pulled up down for the next three blocks. There was a pool at the side of the house filled with at least twenty drunken teenagers. Music thudded from inside the house and Harry gave a little smile thinking that he would soon get to see Louis. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and text Louis that they were there. By the time Louis text back Zayn, Liam and Harry were making their way to the front door.

Great! I’m held up be there soon. Make yourself at home; meet U upstairs in 30 k?

Harry furrowed his brow and texted,  
Okay.

No one was waiting at the door to greet them like before so they all just walked in. Zayn seemed a natural at this but Liam and Harry were very awkward and spent most of their time standing silently in the hallway as the music thudded through Harrys ears the swaying bodies boring him slightly. He looked at the dancers with a jaded expression it was different being the only one at a party not having fun, it made everything seem so shallow and fake. Liam on the other hand seemed genuinely terrified he was pushing himself so far back into the wall he seemed like he could become part of the wallpaper. Zayn must have felt genuinely sorry for them because he returned within five minutes of leaving to ‘scope out the party’. He took each boy by wrists and dragged them through the dancing bodies.  
“Come on guys, let’s play a game” He insisted.  
The boys were led to what looked like a games room compete will a pool table, Ping-Pong table littered with cups, an old arcade game and a bar. Zayn led them to the Ping-Pong table standing at the end and giving a devilish smile as he picked up one of the small balls and rolled in in the palm of his hand.  
“Do you guys know how to play beer pong?”   
Both boys shook their heads and Zayn gave a sigh. He released his grip on Harry. Still holding on to Liam’s wrist Zayn guided him to the other side of the table then released his hand. Zayn leaned in whispering something in Liam ear that Harry couldn’t hear over the pounding music still vibrating in from the other room.   
Liam bit his lip when he was finished. Zayn placed the small ball into Liam’s hand and gave a smile. Liam rolled up the sleeves of his dark grey hoody and threw the ball. It sailed through the air and landed with a splat right in the center of a cup on Harry’s side.  
“Now drink it… and that ladies and gentlemen is how you play beer pong”   
Zayn gave a smug grin as he watched Harry place the cup to his lips and take a swig of beer. After finishing the cup Harry picked up the ball and aimed. He hit the cup on the far side of the table making Liam give out a little sigh.   
“Your turn Liam,” Zayn turns to Liam giving a wide smile.  
Liam picked up the cup begrudgingly and took small sips. Harry loss count of how long they played the game though he did know he was getting worse and worse. After the fourth time Liam managed to get the ball into the cup Harry stated missing a lot but then again so did Liam and Harry found himself laughing for no real reason other than the fact that something was funny, though he couldn’t remember what. He was laughing so hard that he stumbled falling and narrowly missing smacking his head on the corner of the table. Liam burst out laughing backing up against the wall to stop himself from falling over. Zayn extended a hand to help Harry up then patted the younger boy on the back.  
“Okay guys that’s enough beer pong for one night” Zayn insists and in that moment Harry feels his pocket vibrate. He pulls his phone out and squints trying to read the tiny writing.

Harry come upstairs second door on the left, we can talk. I haven’t forgotten our promise ;) 

Harry smiled and quickly headed upstairs. He must have been drunk because he had a lot of trouble trying to actually find the stairs. He had gone through at least three wrong doors before he found himself back in the living room where he finally found the staircase. He had to dodge couple making out and some boys playing rugby in the house. Harry had a bet with himself that the antique vase on the top shelf of the home entertainment system wouldn’t make it through the night.   
At the top of the stairs Harry found the room Louis was talking about and took a deep breath fixing his hair before strolling in. Louis was sitting on the bed looking slightly drunk and displeased until he looked up. Blue eyes met green and there was a spark. Harry was drunk, Louis was drunk and in that moment they had never wanted each other more.  
“Hey” Harry breathed from the doorway his breath hitched as Louis stood crossing the room.  
It was hard to see in the small bedroom. The only light came from that of the moon shinning through a small opening in the curtains.   
“Hey” Louis grabbed Harry camera from off the bed and placed it in his hands.  
“I have a present for you”   
Louis placed it in Harry’s hands and he gripped it gratefully as if welcoming an old friend. Harry slipped off his jumper off and handed it to Louis. He looked down at it breathing in giving a little smile.  
“It smells like you,” He whispered hugging it close to his chest then throwing it onto the bed.  
“Are you drunk Lou?”   
“Are you?”   
“What happened?” Harry asks something feels wrong about Louis.  
“Nothing worth repeating” His eyes move from Harry’s eyes to his lips and something happens.  
Neither of them is really prepared for it. Neither knew who made the first move but neither try to stop it. Louis’s eyes meet Harry’s and his meet Louis,   
“What happened with El?” Harry whispers   
“I broke up with her” There is no joking tone in his voice. He is dead serious.   
Harry leaned closer so that he could smell the alcohol on Louis breath and the tips of their noses brushed.  
“Why did you do that?”   
Harry wasn’t sure if he was talking a lot because he was drunk or because he was nervous. He knew what was about to happen because he could just feel it, it the nerves pit of his stomach, he had butterfly and his heart began to beat like a humming bird.   
“Because I didn’t love her”   
Harry’s breath hitched again. All he could hear was Louis breathing; all he could smell was Louis cologne.   
Louis, Louis, Louis.   
His head was telling him to think about what he was doing but the pounding of where is my mind by the pixies blasting from the downstairs stereo system was drowning out his inner voice. So when Louis leaned in Harry did the same hitching his hands behind Louis neck and forcing them together. Their lips crushed together, it was electric and beautiful. Harry was forced against the door. Louis reached around it making sure to lock it with a flick of his wrist. He managed to do all this without breaking the kiss. Harry moved closer still until their pelvises crushed against each other’s making no room for error. Louis was tugging his fingers through Harry’s hair and he got nervous. What he doing this right? He had never kissed a guy so he wasn’t sure how the mechanics or the rolls worked but the two boys seemed to fumble through that. Harry was kissing a guy. Wholly shit. It hit him what he was doing. It wasn’t just any boy it was Louis, Harry was kissing Louis and he didn’t want it to stop.   
He found himself pushing back harder causing a strange tug of war effect. Louis kissed back harder with his fingers leaving Harry’s hair and finding their way to either side od the door frame holding Harry locked in place so he couldn’t get away. Harry didn’t mind he pressed himself harder against Louis.   
It sounds weird for the thought to pop into his head but Harry thought he finally got the ending of Fight Club, when the same song was playing and the buildings were crumbling down and the two main characters just looked and looked at each other holing hands. If the world were to crumble in that moment Harry wouldn’t stop kissing Louis, he would have kissed harder if anything because whatever happened around them didn’t matter, it is a perfect moment. Just the two of them, they could think of how stupid they were or how this would impact on their friendship later because none of that mattered in the moment.   
A moment with Louis was just like the light on the side of the highway. Just like a falling star. It was an intense blaze that Harry knew would soon enough disappear into oblivion. They had a moment then it would be gone. He wanted to live in it forever.  
Somehow Louis managed to spin Harry around and shove him down onto the bed the fiery look of longing crossing over his face. Harry looked up at his and their eyes met for the first time and something happened, it was like in that instate they both sobered up. The realization of what had just happened hit them both like a tidal wave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks for being patent! I am sorry this took so long, I have been trying to find time to write this in between writing boring 1000 word essays and assignment. So it took longer than I planned but I promise I will try and get these to you as soon as possible.  
> P.S- Larry kiss FINALLY!


	8. Stick Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They kissed. Louis thought he screwed up. Harry thought he did too. But what if they didn't?

Louis looked down at the younger boy his curls mangled and falling like curtains over his wide jade eyes.   
Wholly shit.  
What had just happened? How had he gotten there? How had he let things go this far?

Louis had come early to the party aiming to play the roll of the supportive boyfriend and help set things up. This would mostly consist of him helping El stash away any valuable or fragile items or make sure there was enough alcohol in the house to support a small stadium of people. He hadn’t bothered knocking before he entered. He figure El would be too busy to answer anyway so he walked in. Louis couldn’t see her in the living room so he began wondering around the house somehow finding his way up stairs and into her bedroom.   
What was he doing?  
He had no idea.   
He found himself running his hand over the top of her bookshelf. This was where she kept just about everything that was Eleanor. Three same shaded lipsticks stood side by side at the far side of the shelf. Gucci sunglasses, a Starbucks card, numerous photos of El and her best friend Daniel scattered across. Something was irritating Louis but he couldn’t work out what it was until he saw something peeking out from in between the pages of her chemistry textbook. He opened the book and pulled out a photo of himself and El a year or so ago. It was taken back when things were easier. He could remember it. It was taken the day his football team won the finals. El had come rushing down from the stands being the first to great Louis after the game, even before his parents or other team members. She had insisted on having a photo with ‘the best player on the winning team’ Louis wondered how things had gone from that to the way they were now. Silence, meaningless kisses and more that a little loathing was all their relationship consisted of now days. He took the photo in his hands and sat down on her bed turning it over and noticing her cursive writing scrolled over the back,  
Lou, and me yay we won I knew he could do it!  
Louis suddenly felt the urge to scrunch it into a ball and fling it at the wall. How could she keep that photo and look at it everyday after the hell she had put him through? Had he loved her once? He didn’t think he loved her in the way he was meant to love her, he loved her like a sister he wondered why it had taken so long to realize this. That was until she started kissing his best friends then he just felt like he hated her. But she still looked at this photo every time she opened her stupid chemistry book wedged between calculating equations and measuring the rate of reaction so somehow she must still love him. Somehow.   
Louis ignored the turning of the doorknob still looking down at the photo a strange feeling crossing through his body.  
“Lou? What are you doing here?” El asked dropping her bags on the floor and furrowing her thin brow.  
“I thought I would help but you weren’t her, so…” His voice trailed off, so what? He decided to look around her room, for what?  
“I was out getting some stuff for the party… with Niall, It’s not what you think though I swear we were just shopping. We met there so it was kind of a coincidence and-”  
“I think we should break up,” Louis says out of nowhere not sure were he is taking things himself. Eleanor’s face crumpled,  
“What? Why?”   
“You cheated on me twice, that I know of” Louis kept his voice even no emotion was in any of his words. Though they were hollow anyway.  
“But…” Her voice cracked, oh shit.  
“Do you love me?” Louis asked and this seemed to take her by surprise.   
“What do you mean?”   
“You know what I mean” Her eyes darted from his face to the floor.  
“You don’t love me anymore. How can I love someone that doesn’t love me?” She asks this time meeting his eyes.  
She thought he had stopped loving her? When had that happened?   
“I cheated on you because I thought it might make you feel something Lou because you haven’t loved me in a long time”   
“We should break up El”   
“Why? What’s changed?”  
“This isn’t fair. It isn’t fair to hold on to someone you had no intention in keeping.” Harry’s words spilled from Louis mouth dancing on the tip of his tongue. They felt right. Harry knew what to say when Louis didn’t.   
El gave a sigh and leaned against her door frame,  
“Fine then” She wasn’t sad or bitter her words are just empty.  
“I should go” Louis went to stand but El shook her head.  
“Stay, have fun with your friends Lou because this is the last time you will ever be in this house again.”   
Louis had sat in that stupid bedroom for an hour until he heard a knock on the door again. People had just started to arrive for the party and the last thing Louis wanted was to have a couple walk in on his pity party and start making out in front of him.  
“Someone’s in here”  
The knock came again.  
“Are you deaf? Someone is fucking in here!” Louis shouts back and the door swings open standing in the doorway is the blonde boy, Niall. Louis reminds himself. The boys name is Niall and he is possibly the last person Louis wanted to see in that moment.   
“Sorry but if you set foot in this room I am going to have to kick your arse” Louis hisses  
“I brought a piece offering” Niall extends his hand holding out a plastic red cup filled with some kind of alcoholic beverage.  
“I heard the fight and I was kind of debating on whether on not to come up”   
Louis glared at the wall behind Niall and stood snatching the beer out of his hand and sitting back down on the bed.   
“If it helps she and I didn’t do anything” The boy’s Irish accent was irritatingly kind.   
“Yeah well that is surprising”   
Niall gave a laugh and a smile flickered across his face. He sat down beside Louis taking a swig from his own cup.  
“So rough day huh?”   
“You don’t know the half of it” Louis took another swig and coughs on the vile tasting liquid as it runs down the back of his throat.   
“What is in this?”   
“Kind of a home brew. A mix of vodka, beer, coke and some others I don’t even remember my brother made it” Louis vision blurred at the edges and he set down the empty cup.  
“Your brother is crazy”   
“Maybe so, but he is Irish. We know our alcohol”   
Louis let out a laugh and lay back down on the bed feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked down and saw Harry’s number giving a smile. 

Hey Lou we R here. 

Louis had no idea how he was going to deal with Harry now. Harry had never seen Louis as the mess Louis knew he was. Louis hated for Harry to see him that way. He quickly text Harry asking him to come up in half an hour wanting to have some time to pull himself together. He stole Niall’s cup from his hands and drained it.  
“Wow, that was uncalled for. Who was that?” Niall ask frowning down at his empty cup.  
“A cute fifteen-year-old with green eyes and curls” Louis leaned back hugging the pillow.  
Shit maybe he was drunk.  
“Is that why you broke up this El?” Niall asked and Louis bit his lip, he had forgotten to mention the fact that the cute fifteen- year- old was a guy.   
“No. Yes. No. Shit.” Louis covered his face in the pillow.  
“Well I’m going to go get something to eat because I’m starving but mate just follow your heart not your head. Your head might get you a good grades but your heart will show you how to have some fun, until your head tell you how much you fucked shit up. Tell me how things work out yeah?”   
“Yeah” Louis whispered as Niall left the room. The rest of the story was history. As soon as Harry entered the room Louis had been screwed and now in his moment of somber he knew he had just followed his heart and his head was just about to tell him how much he had just fucked shit up.

Harry lay on the bed looking up at Louis with a childlike expression. Louis’s hands froze on Harry’s chest. He moved his fingers away like lightning had shocked through him.  
“Shit. I’m sorry. Shit. I didn’t mean to kiss you. You didn’t want that. Why would you want that? Oh god I’m so stupid.”   
He backed off from Harry his eyes wide with shock.   
“Lou, I… It wasn’t…” Harry couldn’t find the right words so instead he became silent.  
“We are both drunk. It didn’t mean anything. Just forget it. Let’s just go to Zayn’s car and sleep if off okay? We can talk about it tomorrow”  
Louis was running. Not physically but mentally. He was terrified but his mind was to groggy to register what was going on so he turned on his heels and walked out the door knowing that Harry would probably follow soon after. He walked down the stairs stumbling at the last one and slamming right into Zayn.  
“Shit. Where have you been? I have been looking for you everywhere. I lost Curly” Zayn informs grabbing Louis hand and dragging him out of the house closing the front door where it was slightly quieter.   
“Yeah well I found him,” Louis informed and on queue Harry walked out the front door his curls now patted down and smoothed.   
“I am going to sleep in the truck,” Harry murmured not looking up as he brushed past Louis.  
“I gave Liam the spare blanket in the back if you get cold, he fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago.” Zayn informed but Harry didn’t seem to pay attention.  
When Harry was out of sight Zayn raised an eyebrow at Louis and asked,  
“Who shoved a stick up his arse?”  
“Probably me” Louis sighs.  
“What did you do? I though you two were best friends.”   
One thing Louis had learned about Zayn is that being best friends with him was like playing chicken. He would say something terrible about himself to try to scare Louis away but this time it was Louis turn.   
“We kissed” Louis looked down at his feet as soon as he said it not wanting to see Zayn’s reaction.   
“And you freaked?” Louis’s eyes widened and he looked up.  
“Did you hear what I just said?”   
“Yeah, you really don’t expect that to surprise me do you?”   
“This is kind of a big deal for me! Can you be a fucking normal person for five seconds?” Louis piped up kicking the doorstop and cursing because it hurt like hell.  
“Can you not be such a fucking drama queen for five seconds?” Zayn retorted.   
“Do you know how freaked out I am right now, how can you even ask that? I screwed everything up.”   
Louis ran his fingers through his hair and suddenly felt the urge to throw up. He clutched Zayn for support about to stumble forward. His friend grabbed onto his arm tightly to stop him from falling. Louis clutched onto Zayn’s jacket the smell of leather wafting through his nose. The door swung open behind him and a strangely familiar voice came from behind him.   
“Is he okay?” The voice asked Louis vision was beginning to blur fast.  
“Not your problem” Zayn’s voice comes close to Louis ear and a little to loud.   
“It kind of is” The voice had a certain tone to it that Louis recognized.   
“Lou do you know this drunken leprechaun?” Zayn hisses in his ear.  
Niall. Louis feels like if he opens his mouth he will throw up so he nods weakly.   
“You want me to drive you home or something?” Niall asks to this Louis shakes his head. If his step- father saw him this drunk he would probably ground him for life.   
“Lou you need to go home before you throw up all over my shoes” Zayn adds to this Louis can gasp out rough,  
“Fuck you”   
“Where is your car?” He asks Niall with a sigh.  
“Over there” He points out a fairy average sedan. Louis then feels Zayn pick him up giving out a small grunt.   
“Help me will you Irish boy?”   
Louis’s head spins and soon everything goes black.   
***  
The rough texture of the Tomlinson family couch could be felt from under Louis fingertips and he let out a groan feeling the desperate need to throw up but knowing he too weak to move.   
“Do you know how much trouble you are in Louis?” His step dad, Mark’s voice came a little too loudly.   
“On a scale of one to ten I am guessing eleven” Louis let his eyes drift open, it was still fairly dark the clock on the kitchen stove reading four a.m.   
“Louis do you know how worried I was when four drunk teenagers show up on my doorstep and have to literally carry you in because you are to drunk to fucking stand? Not to mention the fact that they were all underage!” Louis squeezed his eyes shut. Shit he really, really fucked up.   
“Sorry” Louis said trying to sit up but just ending up all most rolling off the couch.  
“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. What the hell were you thinking? Who are those boys anyway? I thought you would be with El at her party like you said!”   
“El and I broke up” Great, Louis was going to look like a depressed, heart broken teenager. Maybe he was but for a very different reason.   
“Where are the boys?” Louis asks suddenly having a terrifying feeling that Harry would have left back to Holmes Chapel without Louis getting a chance to explain things.   
“Zayn and the Irish one are in your sisters room, they were at a friends house thank god when your friends showed up. As for the others, the curly haired one and the one with the puppy dog eyes are in your room” Harry was upstairs, in Louis bed. Wow.   
Louis’s feet found the ground and stood fumbling a little on his feet. Mark folded his large arms over his chest.  
“What are you doing?” He asks  
“I have to talk to them for a minute” He had trouble making his way up the stairs still feeling nauseous but at least he wasn’t drunk this time. He was at the top of the steps now looking at his door the second on the left. The one that faced his neighbor’s window with the pale blue curtains it was the room he had live in since he was seven. It held his football trophies and photos of good times long since lost or forgotten. Most of all his room harbored Harry he had no idea what to say. He just wanted to make things okay but the thing was that nothing was going to be okay, again. Not like before at least.   
Louis opens the door a crack and sees Liam and Harry lying on their own separate sides of Louis twin sized bed and it reminds him of when he slept with Harry in Holmes Chapel. Harry’s green eyes where open and he sat up as the door swung opened. Liam was out cold a small snoring noise coming from his mouth. Louis stood awkwardly against the doorframe.  
“Can we talk?” Louis asks gesturing into the hallway. Harry stood carful not to wake Liam up. Harry didn’t show any emotion when he walked into the hallway he just looked down at his feet.  
“Look Lou you don’t need to say anything you made everything pretty clear” Harry looked as if he was going to turn on his heels and walk back into the room when Louis hand suddenly shot out gripping Harrys desperately.  
“Don’t treat me like a kid Louis it didn’t mean anything to you. We where drunk it didn’t mean anything tomorrow you will probably run back to your girlfriend and forget this ever happen. I will go back home. You will promise that we will talk but we wont. I get it.” Louis’s breath hitched and his fingers tightened harder around Harry’s. Louis hadn’t planned on things going this way but they were. Harry was on the verge of yelling and Louis was just holding him urging him to stay. He hadn’t called him Lou like he normally would. Things were changing already.   
“No you don’t get it.”  
“Then tell me Lou because you are telling me one thing and showing me something totally different just make up your fucking mind” Louis cringed, he had never heard Harry swear and it didn’t sound right coming from his lips.   
“I want you so much it hurts and that scares the shit out of me because I have no idea how to do any of this”   
“What you think I do?” Harry’s eyes where still fixed on Louis fingers interlocked with his. He looked as if he was going to pull away but then Louis pulled him closer pressing their lips together feeling a shudder roll down his body.   
Again he found himself pressing Harry against the wall his lips trailing their way down his neck leaving tinny red marks. Then he slowly pulled away.  
“My step dad is downstairs” He whispers is face still close to Harry’s breathing in his scent.  
“What does this make us?” Harry gasps and Louis eyes meet his.  
“Stick around tomorrow and we will see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hope you all enjoyed, there is going to be a a lot of angst for the next few chapters so be prepared. I also just a lot more swearing then I normally would in this chapter, it seemed to fit the mood. Hope you didn't mind. There is also going to be a predominantly Ziam chapter coming soon so that is also something to look forward to.


	9. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry can't sleep, nether can Louis. Liam woke up way to early, so did Zayn. Niall on the other hand just sleeps most of the morning.

“Can we go somewhere?” Harry asks and Louis nods.  
“I can’t sleep” Harry continues making Louis smile.   
He drags Harry down the stairs trying to be silent not wanting to alert his father. Their fingers still remain interlocked. Mark is no longer waiting in the lounge room Louis figured he would have gone to bed after his rant. He opened a small door under the staircase and Harry raised an eyebrow,  
“What are you Harry Potter or something?” He retorts and Louis chuckles.  
“Shut up Styles and keep going” There is another set of stair leading strait downward and Harry feels his heart drop. He has no idea where Louis is going with this and truthfully he isn’t sure he wants to know. Louis leads him down the staircase steading Harry when he becomes unbalance. When they reached the bottom Harrys’ feet met shag carpet his left shoulder pressing against cold wood. Louis flicked the light switch on and Harry gasped.  
Light shone through the room in a dull glow illuminated by white and red twinkle lights scattered across the room. A striped couch sat in the middle of the room pointing towards a large television, a stereo system sitting just below it. Albums were scattered across the room and a football sat in the far side of the room next to a guitar. Harry gave a smile looking around the room walking towards the guitar.  
“I didn’t know you could play.” He states picking it up.   
“Not very well” Is all he says before lying sprawled out on the couch.  
He shuts his eyes as Harry continues to walk around the room, Harry still isn’t sure what it is he and Louis are doing or where their relationship stands but he just continues to do what fell most comfortable. Though he has a feeling he is walking on eggshells.   
“So what does the great Louis Tomlinson listening to when no one is around?” Louis sat up quickly his eyes springing open seeing that Harry was about to press play on his stereo.   
“Don’t you dare,” He whispers and Harry laughs louder,  
“What do you suppose it could be? Please don’t tell me it is Justin Beiber or I will personally give you a music re-education” Louis stood lunging at Harry and knocking him down but it was too late Mumford and Sons awake my soul began to play and Louis blushed intensely lying on the shag carpet next to Harry. Harry just sat in silence staring up at the shimmering lights scattered around the room. He let the endless strumming of the guitar fill his ears, he turned over and looks at Louis this time he was going to be the brave one.  
He leaned in and let their lips touch again, it wasn’t rough, long and passionate like it had been when Louis initiated it. It was quick, sweet and innocent. The side of Louis mouth turned up his blue eyes lighting up telling Harry that he must have done something right.  
“I like that a lot more than I should have.” Louis whispers,   
“What are we Lou?” Harry asks and Lou puckers his lips in thought.  
“What do you want us to be?” Harry stiffens a yawn feeling suddenly tired.  
“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Harry returns looking at Louis who moves his hand up to ruffle the younger boys hair.  
“Of course it matters Haz” Harry shook his head.  
“I want you to be happy Lou, so whatever you want that means I can see you I will do” Louis moved himself closer to Harry letting out a sigh.   
“That is very bleak”   
“Tell me what you want Lou and I will be it”   
“I want you, but I don’t want you to have to do something you don’t want just because it makes me happy”   
“Okay then, I want this. Whatever it is I want it”   
“I want this too, under one condition”   
“What is that?”  
“You can’t tell anyone.” Louis knows it is a stupid but he wasn’t ready to tell himself it yet.  
“Not now, but eventually we will tell people but I can’t handle it, not now.”   
“Okay.”   
It was silent for a while and Harry was wondering what Louis was thinking. This was a big deal for the both of them. They were finally beginning to admit to themselves what they were.   
“So what happened after I passed out?” Louis asked after a minute and Harry smiled slightly recalling how Zayn had literally pulled Harry out of his car yelling at him to,  
“Wake the fuck up before he drove off without him”   
Then went on to genially shake Liam awake. That had slightly pissed him off but then again he had already been pissed off before hand so the whole Zayn favoritism act had just made his bad mood worse.   
“Oh nothing really just typical Zayn acting like a jack arse.” Louis nodded and let out a yawn. His blue eyes began to drift shut he was slowing drifting back to sleep and Harry smiled pulling a pillow from a couch and placing it under Louis head. He eyes opened slightly and moved over leaving half the pillow empty.   
“Come here curly” Harry smiled and scooted over so they were both very close sharing the same pillow the Mumford and Sons album playing the last track on the album while they lay in the warmth of each others arms. The last thing Harry heard before drifting of to sleep was Louis slightly uneven breathing and the words that trickled out of the stereo.   
“There will come a time when you will see with no more tear and love will not break your heart.”  
***  
Liam saw sun begin to shin through the thin curtains of Louis bedroom, it was still much to early to wake up but as he ran his fingers over the spot where Harry should be soundly sleeping he felt only fabric. Liam’s eyes widened and he sat up looking around the room. His head was screaming in protest throbbing violently. No Harry. He glanced over at the clock on Louis’ bedside table. Five a.m. where the hell was Harry?   
Liam stood walking silently to the window and catching a glance of something outside. Liam couldn’t see clearly enough to tell whom it was but it was worth a try. He made his way into the hallway, down the stairs and out the door. The cold morning air bit into his skin causing a shiver to run down his spine and his hands begin to tremble. He stumbled towards where he thought he saw the figure and suddenly his eyes met another’s. They were a muddied brown, which complimented his dark skin well. Zayn, he was fully dressed and breathing in the chemicals his cigarette smoke provided. It was only then that Liam realized he had come down stairs in the nothing but the slightly dirty shirt he had been wearing since last night and his boxers. More shivers ran along his body and his head pounded, Liam had never been hung over before but he was almost certain he was now he could feel vomit rise in his throat but he managed to will it away.  
“What are you doing up so early Li?” Li, only Harry called him that. Liam suddenly felt very exposed he felt like he should turn and run the other direction. Liam wasn’t good with people he was awkward and slow to catch on. He hadn’t always been this way but ever since he was bullied he had lost a lot of his social skills.   
“I was…just… looking for Harry”   
“Oh…” Zayn sounded genuinely disappointed.  
“I haven’t see him since last night” Liam was still trying to remember what exactly happened last night.   
“Yeah well at least you were sober enough to remember what happened last night, most of it was just a blur to me. Now you don’t have a killer hangover either”   
Zayn raised an eyebrow and look a long drag of his cigarette.   
“What do you remember?” Zayn ask trying almost to hard to look uninterested.   
“Beer pong, Louis was drunk and you drove us to his house… that’s it.” Liam says thinking back he hated having big holes in his memory and not having any idea as to what happened.  
“Well you didn’t miss much. We dance a lot. You are surprisingly talkative when you are drunk, I know you’re favorite colour is purple. You love turtles; your favorite song is End of May by Michel Bublé and your favorite movie is-” Liam’s heart skipped a beat and he cut in.  
“Please don’t tell me I told you the real answer to that”   
“Toy story… really Liam of all the movies” Liam looked down at his bare legs and shivered again.  
“Did I mention I am actually really good at boxing?” Liam adds trying to redeem some of his respect points with Zayn after admitting his favorite movie was Toy Story.   
“You did… hey are you cold?” Zayn asks, as Liam shivers for what must be the tenth time.   
Zayn pulls off his jacket and gives it to Liam revealing his tattooed arms. Liam eyes widen and this time it’s Zayn’s turn to be embarrassed.   
“Wow. That’s a lot of tattoos” He says his eyes trailing the black ink all the way up to the sleeve of his tee shirt.   
“Yeah suppose so” Zayn fidgets again.  
“Cool. What do they all mean?” Zayn’s eyes light up and he uncrossed his arms from his chest.  
“Well they don’t really have any deep meaning for most of them I just like the pattern. This one,” He points to the word zap written across his arm in black, yellow and read ink.  
“I got this one a few months back just because I really love comic books”   
“And this one,” He pulls down the hem of his shirt a little to reveal small black words written across his collarbone in some foreign language Liam didn’t recognize.  
“It is a quote from the scripture because when I lived with my parents it was the only tattoo they would agree to me getting, then there is this one…” He pulled the bottom of his shirt up revealing a small black heart on his hipbone.  
“It’s a cover up” Liam raised his eyebrow and felt his eyes lingering on it for a little too long. Zayn let his shirt fall down again seeming to know Liam was staring.  
“A cover up of what?” Liam asks meeting Zayns’ strangely friendly eyes.  
“The Chinese symbol for born lucky”   
“Why did you cover it?”  
“Because I wasn’t born lucky” Zayn whispers going to take another cigarette out when he realizes the lighter is still in his jacket pocket and gives a sigh.  
“Can I have my lighter?”  
“No” Liam surprises himself.  
“Why not?”   
“Smoking is going to kill you”   
Zayn shrugs nonchalantly and takes a step towards Liam taking Liam by surprise. His eyes never left Liam’s as he unzipped his jacket and reached into the pocket inside the hem of jacket his fingers brushing against Liam’s abdomen making him shiver. Zayn pulls out the lighter and gives a quick smile as he lights his cigarette.  
“You really think I care what kills me Liam? Everyone dies eventually just enjoy the ride, that’s my motto” He takes a big drag then puffs out a cloud of smoke making Liam want to cough.   
“That motto is going to get you killed”   
“Can you stop looking at me as if I murdered a puppy, it’s just a smoke,” Zayn says as he brings the cigarette closer to his lips again.  
Liam only then notices a large piece of skin on the inside of his forearm that isn’t marked by ink. It seems strange because every other inch of his skin is.  
“Why do you have a big space there?” Liam can’t help himself he reaches out and touches his dark skin. Zayn looks down at it and smiles,  
“I am saving it for something special”   
“I’ve always wanted a tattoo” Liam finds himself saying because he was always slightly fascinated with them. He like the way that they could tell someone’s story without even having to explain it. Okay, he didn’t think he wanted as many as Zayn but he did think that he wouldn’t mind one or two. Zayn raised his eyebrow and snuffed out his cigarette on the inside of his wrist. Surly that must have hurt.  
“You don’t seem like the type” Liam shrugged,  
“Maybe I will surprise you”   
Zayns’ eyes search Liam and he smiles dropping the cigarette but on the ground.  
“Maybe you will.”   
Zayn grabs Liam by his jacket and leads his back towards the doorway. Liam can’t help but think how Zayn keeps leading him around like a dog or something, Liam should be mad but he isn’t.  
“Come on Li lets find your curly hair friend so we can get you two home before your parents call the police.”

***  
Harry could hear footsteps coming from above his head and he let out a loud yawn stretching, his arm snagged under the pillow and Louis head. He gave a little sigh. Louis slowly woke up after that his blue eyes opening and shutting. His eyelashes were unnecessarily long brushing the skin of his cheeks when he shut them.   
“Lou I think someone is upstairs” Harry whispers and Louis sits up his hair standing spiked on end making Harry let out a small giggle.   
“What are you laughing at Styles your hair looks like a birds nest” Harry blushes and he quickly pats down his hair and stands.   
“Louis are you home?” Jay, Louis mother called. Louis let out a huff.  
“Shit, Mark obviously hasn’t talked to mum yet” Louis gets to his feet now too brushing his fingers though his hair to try and tame it. Harry and Louis made their way upstairs and practically ran into Jay in the hallway.   
“Ah hey mum.” Louis says rubbing the back of his neck shyly.  
Jay was in a nursing uniform her long brown hair tied back in a bun, she obviously knew something way up.  
“Why are there two underdress boys outside my house… and why is Mark practically passed out in the bedroom, oh and who is this?” Jay asks looking around Louis to meet Harry’s eyes. Harry smiled brightly trying to seem friendly or at least not to seem like a totally jerk. He extended his hand,  
“Harry, I’m Louis’-”  
“Friend. From Holmes Chapel, I told you about Harry remember?” Louis quickly cuts in.  
Jay raises any eyebrow,  
“Yes nice to meet you Harry but that still doesn’t explain why there are three teenaged boys hanging around the house”   
“Four” Louis corrects shyly,  
“And for god sakes boo bear were are your glasses? I told you they look fine your friend wont mind,” She asks and Louis immediately turns bright red. Looking down.  
“I just forgot okay?” He hisses and Harry smiles brightly at Louis,  
“I didn’t know you wore glasses boo bear” Louis’ jaw drops open and he looks wide-eyed at Harry.  
“Shut up Curly” Louis hisses jokingly.   
“We will talk about this later Louis. Do you expect me to make breakfast for all your friends too after a twelve hour shift at work?” Louis bits his lip and shrugs.   
“It’s fine” Harry butts in and Louis eye his again, yeah this who keeping things a secret business is going to be hard when Harry was being so fucking nice to his mother.  
“I can make breakfast for the other boys, unlike Louis I can actually make toast without burning it” Jay smiled,  
“That you Harry and Louis… we will talk about this later” Jay hesitated before heading upstairs. Louis raised his eyebrow at Harry and he smiled cheekily before heading into the kitchen.  
“What do you want for breakfast?” Harry asked the same time as Louis sighs,  
“You can’t do that.”   
“Do what?” Harry didn’t understand what he had done wrong.   
“I don’t know act nice to my mum” Louis moved himself around his kitchen sitting on the countertop.   
“I can’t act nice you your mum?” Harry asks pulling out a pan from Louis counter.   
“No you can’t. It’s suspicious” Harry gave a sigh.  
“What do you want for breakfast Lou-” Harry was cut off mid sentence by the slamming of the kitchen door.   
“No time for breakfast curly, we have to go before your parents murder me.” He grabbed Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him back. Liam stood in the hallway awkwardly.   
“Lou say goodbye to your friend before we drag his arse back home”   
Harry looked at Louis with alarm as if he hadn’t expected for him to have to leave this soon. Louis didn’t have time to think before he spoke.  
“I have most of the week off to study for finals so maybe I could swing by on Wednesday or something maybe stay until the weekend” Harrys’ eyes lit up.  
“Okay, Lou see you soon okay?”   
“Promise?” Louis asked   
“Promise” Harry returned.  
It wasn’t much but maybe promise could be their I love you. Louis had never said that to anyone before so maybe if he couldn’t say it out loud he could just promise himself that maybe one day he would be able to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, some Ziam!!! This was more of a filler chapter than anything but I still hope you enjoy.


	10. Unstable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Harry is gone Louis is stupid that much he has come to realise and he does some pretty dumb things that he will regret.

“So are you just staying here to raid my fridge?”   
Louis let out a laugh and positions himself on the counter top. Harry, Zayn and the other one, Liam had left about an hour ago. Niall had finally managed to drag himself out of bed and was busy raiding the cabinets for anything that was even remotely edible. He shoved several pancakes in his mouth and moved on to the pantry.   
“Hey I could have helped save your life last night, I deserve a little reward” Nialls’ mouth was filled with food making his words almost illegible.   
“Yeah well so did four other guys and they didn’t eat me out of house and home”   
Niall smirked a little and shoved his hands into a packet of crisps he had dug out of the pantry. Louis reached into the bag and pulled out a handful turning them over before popping one into his mouth. Louis hated to admit it but he kind of likes Niall even though he was a real pain in the arse.   
“Yeah well but I’m guessing that you gave Harry a different type of reward”   
Louis coughed mid chew spluttering out a spray of crisps. He looked up at Niall wide eyed they Irish boys facial expression hadn’t changed. Okay maybe Louis didn’t like Niall very much at all.   
“What?” Was all Louis could say, surely he heard it wrong.  
“Come on Lou, fifteen year old, curly hair, green eyes. I talked to him for a while when you were passed out in the car. He clearly likes you too it wasn’t to hard to put two and two together and I’m failing basic level math so I should know.”  
Louis fell silent biting down hard on his lip, when did he start doing that? He probably picked it up from Harry seems he did it all the time. Could you really pick up someone’s habits without noticing it? Probably.  
“You can’t tell anyone about it” Louis still hasn’t seen Niall react.  
“I wasn’t going to. It’s kind of cute really, he is a nice kid” Louis’ eye widened and he looked up again.  
“Cute? Really that is what you have to say about it?” Niall only shrugs nonchalantly.  
“Hey, it’s your life and you two would make a good couple. I mean he is pretty fit. If I went that way I could see the appeal” Niall bit into another crisp.  
Louis was kind of hoping that Niall would stick around because he knew the minute he left his parents would jump him. He could go somewhere before they would murder him but shit. His car was still at Eleanor’s house. That was going to be an inconvenience.   
“He could you drive me to Eleanor’s to get my car” Niall raised an eyebrow.  
“Awkward ex talk, eh if I must but I am expecting you to by me lunch on the way.” Louis’ jaw dropped, wow this guy could eat. He wasn’t ready to brave El without someone to help him maybe Niall could be a witness just in cause she tried to kill him or worse get back together with him. He couldn’t handle it.   
“Okay, fine. Just hurry up and get in the car”   
***  
Niall drives faster than Louis does so within minutes they are sitting outside Eleanor’s front door. Louis dreads the moment when he has to face her now even more than he dreaded the moment he had to break up with her. That was a spear of the moment decision not one that Louis had time to anticipate, this on the other hand he knew was going to be awkward and uncomfortable. He hoped that he could just get his car and go but he never really planed on things going that smoothly. As soon as he feet touched the grass of her front lawn he could feel her gaze. He wasn’t sure where she was but he knew she had to be here somewhere close and he knew she was watching. He gave Niall a glance over his shoulder furrowing his brow. Niall the stupid Irish mess had really grown on him which was odd because he knew in his heart he was supposed to hate him, just like he knew in his heart he shouldn’t love Harry.   
Love. It was something that Louis had never anticipated. He had always imagined that you would know it when you felt it but things were much more complicated than that. Love was an internal tug of war with two sides trying to tell you which way to go. Was love in the head or the heart? Love was not something you could anticipate or something you could use lightly, it was either there or it wasn’t and with El Louis knew now that it wasn’t and it never had been.   
“You’re fine, just don’t mention the fact that you are… you know kind of dating a guy the day after you two broke up” Niall wasn’t being helpful but he was trying.  
Louis didn’t bother correcting Niall about what Harry and Louis were doing, because really what would he say? We aren’t dating we just kissed a few times and now I am going to spend the week at his house where we will probably kiss but we still like to hang out and just act like best friends. Except for the fact that Louis kind of loves him but there is no way that would be easy to explain.   
“Thanks Niall” Was all Louis said before walking to his car.  
He had left the keys in the ignition and it was a wonder someone hadn’t stolen it. His car would normally be the type to catch peoples eye and Louis wasn’t normally as carless with it. Before he could get in the car a voice came from behind him.  
“What are you doing here Lou?” It was El, what a surprise.  
“I forgot my car last night.” Louis says not wanting to look at her.  
“I saw your friends carry you out last night. You seemed pretty drunk. Do you want to talk about it?” Louis spun around on his heels leaning against the car and rolling his eyes.  
“Do you really want to talk about it?” He returned knowing she wouldn’t.   
He gave her a once over. She didn’t look too bad. Most people wouldn’t notice the small red that rimmed her eyes but Louis did, they stood out to him like splotches of red ink on a blank page.   
“I wanted you to know I’m here for you, yesterday you seemed distant and you have for a long time. Lou I care about you and I want you to know that I really am here” She took a step closer her hand trailing its way up to the back of his neck bringing back the ghost of a memory Louis didn’t want to touch on. Her lips were on his like a thousand time before, it was a bitter almost lustful kiss that Louis didn’t return but he didn’t pull away either.  
He stood frozen still while ice filled his veins. He was numb, just numb. Her kiss meant nothing just flesh on flesh and the taste of gloss and mint. He knew Niall was watching them and after El pulled away Louis jumped into his car not hesitating when he shut the door and drove off. God why had he let that just happen? What type of person was he?   
He drives until he can’t breath and strange tears string in his eyes. El is what he wants. She is what he wants to be. He wants to be someone who his not just normal but popular. El was both, she was something he should have been happy to have not regretful to have ever touched. If he thought back to the way his fingertips would trail over the dints and crevices of her exposed skin he would shiver, close his eyes and blink them away like a memory best forgotten. Harry on the other hand was who Louis was. He was the only sense of light in the bleakest of realizations. Not everyone would take it well he didn’t want to tell anyone ever yet somehow people still knew. They saw through his transparent masked and called him out on it. Some people had even seen it there before he had realized it. He wanted Harry to be here because despite his young age he was taking everything a lot better than Louis was. Louis clenched his hands on the steering wheel and drove he drove until the fuel light shone red. Then he drove home.  
His mother and Mark greeted him, the conversation between them was not brief but Louis still managed to tune it out. It was something about being grounded indefinitely and a then producing a long list of things that would be taken from him. No matter how loud they scream the words didn’t make sense because he was craving distant lips and biting back explanations. What would he tell Harry when he saw him? It wasn’t like they were dating so it wouldn’t be clarified as cheating though it felt like it. He felt like he had taken advantage of Harry, for some subconscious experiment. He felt dirty and cheep. Kissing El or letting her kiss him was his heads last ditch effort in trying to convince him he was the person he was. The person he imagined himself to be but he wasn’t.   
Louis wasn’t sure how he ended up on the floor of the basement laying where he did the night before running his hands through the carpet and admiring how after only one night the side of the pillow Harry slept on smelt like him. Louis had brought so many songs from bands Harry had mentioned from his texts and now they played loudly from his IPod docking station on shuffle. He was an idiot.   
There was a knock on the door sometime later. Louis guessed it was his parents or maybe his sisters come to either comfort him or yell at him. Either way Louis ignored it until the door swung open making a loud thud against the wall. Heavy-footed steps came from upstairs but Louis still didn’t bother to turn and look.   
“Looks like I’m back just in time. What’s wrong with you? I thought you would be over the moon for your little date with Harry, not laying in your basement wallowing in your own misery and listening to… whatever god awful indie crap this is.”   
Louis rolled over to see Zayn standing in the doorway looking down at his friend with a genuinely conserved look.   
“It’s The Boy Who Block His Own Shot by Brand New, I’m pretty sure it is an acoustic version, Harry likes it” and the bitterly sweet lyrics fit his mood to a tee.   
“It looks like I might have come a little late then. The acoustic version, seriously? You must be in a bad mood”   
Zayn came into the room sitting down cross-legged beside Louis. Louis propped himself up a little to look at Zayn.  
“I was gone for a few freaking hours Lou. I swear to god I am going to need to move here just to keep you in check. What did you do now?”   
“What makes you think I did something?”  
“You always do something Lou” He used a duh kind of tone.  
“I let her kiss me” Bitter words fell from his tongue.  
Zayn let out a sigh and lay down himself his head facing Louis feet he breathed in and out slowly letting his eyes close. Louis wondered what thoughts were rushing through his head. He never knew what Zayn was thinking most of the time. Though he was normally blunt he wasn’t on to speak his mind often.   
“Louis you are really a mess you know that?” Louis sighed  
“I know. I just can’t deal Zayn. You have no idea how hard it is to think your something for so long then just not be it.”   
Zayn laughed. Yeah he laughed, what type of a friend would laugh? Louis slammed his elbow into the back of Zayns’ knee making both boys sit upright.   
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Louis demanded.   
“You’re a drama queen” Zayn is gasping between chuckles.  
“You have no idea how shitty this is for me and you are laughing!”   
“I am laughing because I know exactly what you’re going through and I wasn’t such a princess when I worked it out” Louis’ eyes widened. Was Zayn saying what he though he was saying?  
“You me you-”  
“I like guys don’t make a big deal out of it okay, I like girls too it just doesn’t matter that much to me”  
Louis looked for any hint of joking in Zayns’ face now. There was none and that was terrifying to Louis. Zayn didn’t look like the type of guy who would secretly crush on other guys but then again Louis didn’t think himself to be one either.  
“God, why didn’t you tell me?”   
“Because it doesn’t matter,” Zayn whispered staring up at the roof. Louis wished he could tell him that it did matter. Louis’ mind began wonder to Zayns intentions when they had first met at a party several months before.  
“So the first time we met. Where you trying to hit on me or something?” Louis tried to say it seriously but his voice cracked and he let out a little laugh. Zayn started laughing to falling back onto the ground doubled over himself.  
“No! God no. Why would you thing something like that?” He gasped between breaths.  
“I don’t know you came up to me and offered me a drink. That is pretty much the first play in the book”   
“And you think I’d be so predictable? I offered you a drink because you looked like you were having a shit day not because I wanted to fuck you” Louis let out another laugh.  
“Whatever you say.”   
The laughs died down and soon the room laps into silence. It was several songs later that Zayn spoke again.  
“Hey Lou” Zayn whispered again looking at his friend and wondering how they had both gotten so far.  
Zayn wasn’t the type who let people in, that was already evident to Louis the thing that wasn’t was the fact that Zayn had let Louis further in then he had let anyone in a very long time. He still didn’t know everything but he new enough to make him Zayn best friends. That was strange considering they only met months before hand but there was just something about the two boys that clicked.   
“Promise me you won’t break the kids heart”   
“Since when are you so concerned about Harry?” Zayn shrugs.  
“The kid wore off on me a little okay, just don’t screw things up.”   
“As the supportive best friend aren’t you supposed to be telling that to him?”   
Zayn let out a laugh as if the idea was totally out of the question.  
“I know he won’t break your heart. You can’t see it Lou but the way he looks at you it’s like he would rather launch himself of a building then let anything bad happen to you. It’s devotion and more than a little scary but he loves you, he probably hasn’t told you that but he does. You on the other hand are just fumbling through the gray here and I’m not sure if your going to turn right or left so just make sure you don’t take him down with you, okay?”   
Louis had to think about this for a minute through Zayns’ eyes. The way he described it Harry was the stable one, the one who was sure of what he wanted. Louis on the other hand was going to be the one who needed to make up his mind he was the unstable one. He was the one who wasn’t fully there. He wanted to be but he just wasn’t. It was an inner struggle heart and head he just needed a shove in the right direction for the scales to tip. Zayn knew this and he wanted to make sure that whatever way one he could live with the aftermath of the decision.   
“You should right a novel. Use up all of your bottle up words of wisdom and just let them fall all over the pages of a book so you can stop dumping them all on me, especially when your right ninety percent of the time”   
“I am always right Lou you just misinterpret what I meant for the other ten percent of the time.”  
“Well since you are giving me relationship advice I will give you some. Tomorrow drive to London, don’t ask questions I will give you an address and let the chips fall as they may”   
“What are you trying to set me up for Tomlinson?”   
“You will have to see, tomorrow, London. Don’t be late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh let me start of by saying that I am sorry it took me so long to write this my life is just really hectic right now but I'm trying! Anyway I have been trying to work out lately how many chapter this fic should be considering I already have my next in mind. I have decided it is probably going to be somewhere around 12-14 chapters so we are reaching the tale end of the story but I hope you all will hang in there I am trying to get chapters out ASAP I really am.


	11. Maybe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn is going to London to see what the hell Louis is setting him up for. Of all the people in all the places he had to pick Liam Payne.

Zayn drove head on down the highway his mind rushing through all the possibilities as to why Louis would have sent him to London. Louis ideas normally range from stupid to just plane crazy. Zayn was trying to decipher which this one this would be closest too. He didn’t know London as well as he knew Manchester or Doncaster and truthfully he tried to steer clear of the place all together. It was somewhere that reminded him of home. He wasn’t sure why but it did and anything that reminded him of Bradford would remind him of pretty much every horrible memory from the past. He was going out on a limb here and trusting Lou, London wasn’t Bradford. London was London and he maybe he needed a little distraction from everyday drama.   
As he approached the address Louis had given him he turned down the radio and slowed approaching the curb. There was nothing particularly special about the street.   
It was in front of a fairly popular shopping mall the streets filled with people busking. They were showing off all different types of talents like magic trick, juggling flaming object and a lot of singing. Zayn was about to check if he had got the address right when he caught from the corner of his eye a familiar face. Liam, Liam Payne. Of all the people in all the places Louis had to pick Liam. Liam who smelled like aftershave and sweat, Liam whose lips tasted kind of fruity like gum mixed with the taste of alcohol. He knew this because he hadn’t told Liam everything about what happened nights before. They had danced like Zayn had told Liam but they had also done more things afterwards.   
Zayn remembers dragging him from the dance floor insisting that he would hurt himself if he kept dancing (it was more like stumbling around really). Zayn had led him back to his truck pulling the blanket from under the seat of his car and laying it over Liam. For a second their eyes met.   
“Get some sleep Liam you are going to feel it in the morning” Liam had smiled and extended his hand grabbing onto Zayn by the wrist.  
“Don’t leave Z” Liam pulled them closer and suddenly they were kissing. Zayn didn’t plan it but he also didn’t want to fight it. They kiss it wasn’t nearly as rough and passionate as Zayn was used it but it was also fill with much for comfort. Liam drifted off to sleep soon after. Now he didn’t remember any of it and Zayn was a little more that shattered.   
He wanted to turn the car around but he didn’t. He wanted to stop walking Liam’s way but he didn’t. Zayn just stood there and listened as Liam sung the familiar tune of fly me to the moon while somehow still remaining to be moderately hidden behind the gathering crowd. Zayn wasn’t sure how long he stood and listened but he had lost count of the number of songs Liam played. When he finally looked like he was about to finish up Zayn’s mind told him he had two choices. The first was the coward’s way out. Turn and walk away just don’t look back, pretend he a never been there. It was the smart way. The other option was too say hello and act like the kiss never happened. This might be equally as smart by ten times as hard. Still Zayn held his breath and chose the latter.   
Liam didn’t notice him until they were almost face-to-face. When his eyes met Zayn’s something in his facial expression changed.  
“Zayn?” Liam voice sounded hopeful.  
“What are you doing here?”   
“I was in the neighborhood and I heard a very familiar voice, figured I would say hello”  
“How long have you been watching?” Should he tell the truth or a lie?   
“A while” A vague answer but not a lie Zayn didn’t really enjoy lying to Liam but sometimes it was better than the full truth.   
“Well you didn’t have to stay an listen, I’m not that good”   
“No your not good, your brilliant Li.” Zayn wasn’t lying because when Liam sung everyone listened. People stopped what they were doing just to glace up and pay attention. People wanted to see who belonged to the voice. They wanted to look at Liam smile while he sang because when Liam smiled it was almost impossible not to smile.   
“How come you have a habit of showing up everywhere Zayn? Do you even have a home?” Liam said it jokingly but it hit a nerve because Zayn knew he didn’t. Not really, he had flats or people to say with but as far as a home went Zayn was lacking one. His parents had thrown him out a little over a year ago he didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, ever.   
“I only show up when someone wants me here Li and I’m pretty sure you’re in need of a partner in crime” He needed to keep his voice even.   
“I think I’ve had enough of your ‘crime’ after the other night, not that I didn’t enjoy it but I don’t think I can handle you Zayn. You can help me pack my stuff up though if you want” Liam bends down picking up his guitar case full of money while Zayn took the microphone and stand folding it up carefully.   
“Where do you want me to put it?”  
“I took the bus here so I guess we will have to wait until the next one” Zayn raised an eyebrow at Liam.   
“You really took the bus? Come on get in my car I’m driving you home”   
Zayn put the microphone in the bed of his truck and gestured for Liam to do the same with the guitar case. Then swung himself into the drives seat.   
“Zayn” Liam whispered his name as he hopped into the passenger seat. Zayn groaned in response.   
“Did you tell me everything about what happened Friday night?” Why the hell was he asking that? Lie Zayn, he needed to lie.   
“Yeah, why would you ask?” Sound natural don’t let your voice be uneven, the voice in Zayn head was screaming. He put his foot down on the gas and began to drive so he had an excuse not to look at Liam’s pleading brown eyes.  
“I just thought you might have missed some parts out” Zayn was silent for a long time.  
“What do you think I forgot to mention?” Liam couldn’t know because if he knew Liam would have been freaked if he knew what had really happened.  
“It’s nothing”   
“Tell me Liam” Zayn needed to know.  
“It’s really stupid, never mind” Zayn’s grip tightened around the steering wheel.   
“Liam I am not letting this drop”   
“Pull over” Liam said calmly out of nowhere. Zayn furrowed his brow having no idea where the conversation was going. He slowed the car reluctantly to a stop and turned to meet Liam’s big brown eyes. His hair fell over his eyes and curled at the end, he really needed a haircut. That was what Liam would have said anyway. Zayn on the other hand love the way it curled around his ears and away from his eyes it made him remember when his fingers were intertwined with Liam’s curls but Liam didn’t even remember any of it. They were useless memories because he was the only one who had them.   
“This is what you forgot to mention” Liam let the words fall in whispers past his lips.  
He leaned in slowly at first letting his lips brush Zayn’s for a second he sat there in total shock of what was happening because one- Liam knew and he wasn’t freaking out, two- they were both completely sober and three- Liam was kissing him. Zayn leaned in closer now adding a rougher edge to the kiss fiddling with the clasp of his buckle and rolling oven closer to Liam so there was no space to move let alone breath they pressed onto each other. Liam was the first to pull away and Zayn realized that maybe he had gotten a little carried away with himself.   
“You knew” Zayn gasped.  
“Since yesterday, I remember the minute I got into your car again”   
“Why didn’t you tell me?”   
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Liam threw the question back in Zayn’s face.  
“I didn’t think you wanted… that. I didn’t think you wanted me and if you did want me you shouldn’t have because I’m not worth your time Liam.” Liam’s brown eyes became innocent and wide.  
“What do you mean you’re not worth it?”   
“I mean that I can’t love you in the right way because despite your beliefs I can’t love like you do. I would try but I can’t, I am broken and battered. I am not worth anyone’s time”   
Liam reached out intertwining his fingers in Zayn’s hair. Normally he would hate this, his hair took an hour to style and he didn’t appreciate it when anyone touched it but with Liam it seemed okay.   
“You are worth every minute I give you. Don’t give yourself such a horrible reputation”   
“You have no idea what I have done and what reputation I deserve” Zayn was pushing him away but Liam was pulling him closer, this never happened to him before.   
“I don’t care what you have done”  
“I’m not the right person for you Liam, I don’t have a home. I drink too much and smoke way to often. I have slept with several people, you just had your first kiss”   
“So you’ll have to help me catch up” Liam was relentless.  
Zayn knew he wasn’t good for Liam because he wasn’t good for anyone. He didn’t even think he was good enough for himself. His mother hadn’t thought he was good enough. When she saw him with a cigarette in his hand and a guy in his bed she had voice how utterly worthless he was. She had screamed it. After that he never went back and he never would because they shouldn’t have to waist there time on someone who is worthless. Liam wouldn’t let Zayn push him away. The only other person who had done this was Louis and even he had points where he would back off, not Liam.   
“Liam if you want to do… whatever it is you want with me it won’t be good for you”  
“I don’t care”   
“I will hurt you”  
“I’ll take the risk”   
“You are the most fucking stubborn guy I’ve ever met.”   
“Then give in because you are obviously the second most stubborn person in this car and I know this doesn’t happen to you much but you are going to have to deal with it.”   
Zayn fell silent wanting to persist but feeling that any debate would be futile and a waste of his time. He just sat there in silence not saying anything just looking at each other trying to work out the small details in each other’s face. Noticing every small freckle and wrinkle that found itself on the other’s faces.   
“Can we go somewhere before you take me home?” Liam asked giving his best puppy dog look.   
“Fine, where?” Zayn was trying to keep most emotions out of his voice trying to remain indifferent. He knew where Liam stood and Liam knew where he stood there was no use fighting about it.  
“It’s a surprise I will give you directions”   
“I didn’t think it was possible for you to have more surprises for me Liam”  
“Oh I live to surprise Zayn just you wait.”   
***  
It didn’t take as long a Zayn had expected to get to, wherever Liam was taking him. He pulled out front of a decrepit looking building with bars across most windows and a heavily padlocked door. Zayn could never have pictured Liam going to a place like this, his mind reaching in the dark for ways to fathom what Liam actually wanted to do there. Nothing.   
“What are we doing here?” Zayn questioned and Liam gave a smile taking his equipment out of the bed of the truck and fumbling for a key in his jeans pocket. When his hands finally grasped it he shoved it into the padlock and gave it a stern pull open. It rattled loudly and screeched open. Liam walked in not bothering to turn and look over his shoulder because somehow he knew Zayn would be following. He followed close on his heels smiling slightly as he entered.   
Though the outside of the place had less to be desired the inside was totally different it was a very large room with lights shining through the many bared windows down onto polished wooden floors. There are several instruments in the room taking up some of the space. A large piano rested in the far corner of the room, a stack of easels and canvases over the other side. Zayn felt drawn to it crossing the space between him and the canvases quietly studying them. He loved to paint. He just loved art in general. There was something beautiful and pure about a blank canvas it was a sea of endless possibilities.  
“What is this place?” Zayn asks turning back to Liam.  
“It was an old art studio but I needed somewhere to put my interments and record songs, the place was really cheap so I brought it with the money from my summer job. I felt like it would be a waste to throw out the painting stuff but I didn’t know what to do with them. Harry told me you liked to paint so I figured maybe you would want them.”   
Liam gave a shrug as if it was no big deal but to Zayn giving him something like that was more than just a gift. It was so much more. It was like giving him a little piece of freedom. Paint supplies were expensive and with that and rent his job didn’t allow him to have both very often. He looked down at the tins of paint and a smile formed on his face that shone so bright he caught Liam staring. He snapped out of it quickly remembering that he was supposed to by trying to push Liam away.  
“How did Harry know I like to paint?”  
“He is actually pretty observant and the way he describes it your apartment is full of paintings” Liam pulled out an easel from the stack and dragged it to the center of the room.   
“It is not” Zayn retorts though he knew it was.   
Next Liam grabs a canvas and paint dragging them to the center of the room and placing them down beside the easel.   
“What are you doing?” Zayn asks trying to sound irritated though his voice just came out bored. It still had the same indifferent tone to it so Zayn was pleased he could keep his façade.   
“Paint me something” Liam says bluntly handing a brush to Zayn and crocking his head to the side.   
“Why?”  
“Do you always have to read into everything Zayn? Can’t you just paint me something and not thing I have some kind of ulterior motive”   
“But you do have an ulterior motive”   
“Well that’s beside the point. Now come on.” Zayn looks down at the brush in his hands. God Liam is stubborn and he isn’t going to give up.  
“Fine but only if you play the piano while a do it and you can’t look until I tell you, okay?”  
Without another word Liam nods and crosses the room to where the piano was and starts to play keys growing from forte to mezzo piano so quickly and seamlessly Zayn had to admit he was impressed. He looked at the blank canvas for several moments then down at the paint. For once in his life he had no ideas, none. He chewed the inside of his lips and ran a hand through his hair even tilting his head to the side to look at it from another angle. Still nothing came to him so he shut his eyes.  
He listened to the piano play soft and seamless. Liam voice drifted through the studio in no louder than a whisper but Zayn felt an image fly into his head and he began to paint.   
***  
The canvas was no longer blank and the music had droned out to a silent background noise. Zayn looked at what he had painted tilting his head from one side to the next trying to decide if it was good enough for Liam to see. On the canvas was a microphone that resembled the one Liam had used earlier that same day rising up from an angry puddle of ink black paint the background consisting of a sea of colour just to fill the space, strange curves and splatters. Zayn wasn’t really sure what to make of it but there was something he liked about the image.   
“Hey Liam” Zayn whispers not taking his eyes of the canvas. The piano instantly stops and Zayn hears the chair squeak against the flood boards.   
“Yeah Zayn?”   
“I’m finished”   
Liam is by Zayns side in an instant his eyes sweeping the picture not taking his eyes off of it. Zayn of the other hand couldn’t take his eyes off of Liam waiting for some kind of reaction. Liam opened his mouth as if grasping for the words to describe it.  
“You hate it” Zayn said bluntly  
“No, I actually kind of love it.” Liam reached up and took the canvas from the easel and walked back across the room hanging it on the hook right above the piano. Zayn smiled because it seemed to fit there just right, it was home.   
“Can I keep it” Liam asks.  
“As long as you let me come back here next week and paint another and the week after that” Zayn decided then and there to fuck pushing Liam away because it wasn’t’ working and maybe Zayn didn’t want it to work because maybe just maybe he wanted Liam just as much if not more than Liam wanted him.   
“And the week after that?” Liam continued making Zayn laugh a genuine laugh a smile lighting up his face.  
“Yeah okay I will clear my calendar lets just hope Louis doesn’t have any more breakdown in the mean time and we should be fine.” Liam nods making no attempt to hide the smile plastering itself onto his face.   
“Now come on Lee- yum, I better get you home”   
Wow, five seconds and Zayn had fallen into the hole that was romantic pet names. If Louis could see him now but then again Louis was to busy battle his own inner demons to even notice Zayns he just hoped he would get his shit together soon before he took everyone down with him.   
The thing was Zayn didn’t just go home after he dropped Liam off he had this strange urge he had to fulfill, an itch he had to scratch. He drove to the nearest tattoo parlor and filled the large space on the inside of his arm. A microphone jumping from a pool of black ink it was home and maybe just maybe Zayn could find a home again in whatever it was he and Liam were starting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay well this was a very Zayn, Liam centred chapter. I figured that before I start to tie up lose end with Louis and Harry's story line I should give Liam and Zayn a nice happy ending, there might still be a little more to their story in the next few chapters but it will mostly be Larry from here on out. Hope you enjoyed, don't forget to comment :D


	12. Things Just Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and Harry have been fighting there way to each other for a long time but will they finally end up together or be torn apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter I hope you all enjoy, I love everyone of you for making it this far with me!

Louis scooped his duffle bag off of his bedroom floor and pulled his phone out of the pocket were it resided, taking a deep breath. Today was the day. He was going to Harry’s it was time for him to pull his shit together and admit how he felt but there was only one problem.   
He was grounded. Yeah he didn’t really think that one threw very well. So he was going to ask his mother now. She was about to get off work and would be too tired and irritated to argue. He knew Mark wouldn’t budge so Louis wasn’t going to even bother. Mark was like a brick wall when it came to arguments he wouldn’t budge or be knocked down to size. Jay on the other hand was a little more reasonable.   
His mother drags herself through the door and lets out a loud sigh giving Louis a once over. Her eyes lingered on his bag and her head tilted a little her face crumpling into a disapproving look.  
“Where do you think your going?” Maybe she wasn’t going to say yes even in her current state.   
“I was going to Harry’s house, you know the curly haired one from the other night? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important but I really need to see him” It wasn’t necessary a lie.   
Harry’s name echoed through Louis head like a sickening symphony, he needed to see him more than he needed air in his lungs his mother seemed to sense it.   
“Louis William Tomlinson I swear to god if something happened while you are gone you are never leaving this house again” Louis stood upright a smile spreading across his face.  
“Does this mean I can go?”   
“This means you better get out of here before I change my mind.”  
That was all Louis needed to rush out the door, leap into his sleek black Porsche and speed down the highway.  
***  
Harry was sitting on his window seat gazing out as rain began to pelt down against the windowpane. It reminded him of another day that had long since pasted, when his stomach was filled with nervous butterflies waiting for his first concert. It seems very insignificant now given everything he had been through since that day. Maybe just maybe he wasn’t excited for his first concert but waiting to meet Louis. Louis who had taken him to his first party, who had protected him and helped him before he even knew him.  
Louis who loved The Fray, was Terrified of highs and could beat Harry at football in a heartbeat. Louis who kissed as if the whole world was crumbling and he was lost in the kiss clinging onto the last sense of forever.   
He was going to be here any moment and saying Harry was freaking out would be the understatement of the year. He couldn’t do anything but sit and wait for Louis to come but waiting didn’t seem to be very easy when his mind was screaming at him.  
What if he doesn’t love you?  
He could have anyone why would he want you?  
He probably won’t even come.  
Why are you wasting your time?  
Harry tuned out these voices by shoving his IPod into the docking station and blasting out random songs on shuffle not paying much attention just wanting to blast out the negative thought in his head. He never even heard the Porsche pulling up outside his house it’s only when he heard Gemma scream from down stairs,  
“Harry your boyfriends here!” That he realized Louis was there.  
Harry blushed hard regretting that he had ever told Gemma he kissed Louis but then again Gemma had already knew, his sister could read him like a book and it was a pain in the arse.   
“I’m coming down, touch that door and I swear to god I will rip your arm off!”  
It was a good thing his mother wasn’t home to hear him threaten his sister or to hear Gemma throwing around the word ‘boyfriend’ as it if were nothing out of the ordinary. He hadn’t told his mother it wasn’t like he was afraid it was just that he was waiting to see what him and Louis really were they hadn’t labeled it or even confirmed that what they had was something Harry was just hoping.   
Harry leaped up and rushed down the stair falling over his feet several times and almost tumbling head first down the stairs. He reached the door before Louis had time to knock throwing open so quickly that it slammed hard against the back wall. Before Harry could open his mouth Louis cut in his eyes looking wide and ravenous.  
“Shut up Harry. Just don’t say anything for five seconds, okay? I have a lot of things to say so can you just wait until I’m finished.”   
Harry wasn’t sure what to make of that he let his mouth drop open considering saying something but instead decided nodding was his best option Louis could really be confusing some times but Harry had to admit he admired the boys slightly static behavior it was a part of Louis and Harry seemed to love every part of Louis even the things that annoyed the shit out of him like how he would tap his foot when he was getting impatient or would talk too fast when he was nervous.   
“Okay, well first I wanted to say I love you. Wait no I was supposed to say that last. Shit. I wanted to say that I am really a fucking screw up and I will probably screw this relationship over more times than I will get things right- oh did I mention that I maybe wanted you to be my boyfriend. No, uh shit this is coming out all wrong. Maybe uh, fuck! Can I just start again?”  
Before Louis could ramble on anymore Harry leaned in and kissed him with such force they both were knocked down slamming into the wet grass being pelted with ice-cold rain. Harry fell on top of Louis their lips crushing against each other’s like some kind of cosmic force it was meant to be.  
“I love you too Lou and I will be your boyfriend. So can you shut up for five seconds please?”   
“Yeah okay” Louis whispered between kisses his hair sticking to his face dripping in the rain.   
“Does this mean we can tell people now?” Harry asked curiously.  
“Yeah this means we can tell people now.”   
Harry smiled and rolled off Louis onto the grass his face being bombarded with icy rain puckering his kiss-swollen lips and pushing back sticky wet curls.  
“I would like that” Harry whispered only now hearing the music drift threw his open door from the docking station upstairs.   
“With your feet in the air and your head on the ground-” Louis cast Harry a sideways glance a knowing look in his eyes.  
“Is this the song from when we first kissed Harold?” Harry smiled.  
“It’s a cover by Sunday girl but yeah it is. I thought it would be a good song to slow dance with” Louis puckered his lips into a smirk.  
“I will keep that in mind for our wedding”   
Harry sat straight up furrowing his brow and cocking his head to the side. Louis mirrored Harry’s actions with a cheeky smile plastered across his face.  
“Are you asking me to marry you?”   
“Simple but effective” Louis chuckled so loudly it could be heard from the rain.   
“What will we tell our kids when they ask how we met?” Harry inquires deciding to go along with Louis daydream.   
“Things just happen”   
Louis leaped onto of Harry mounting him and letting the rain soak into the back of his white tee shirt making his muscles stand out. Harry smiled so wide it felt like his mouth was going to split. They kissed each other deeply and breathed in everything that was Louis, his skin, his hair, the cheeky glint in his eyes and Louis did the same.  
Harry’s childlike green eyes, his wide smile, he band tees and wristbands all made up the one perfect person that was Harry Styles. Harry puckered his lips one last time and repeated Louis words letting them sink into his mind, his skin, his soul. They fit like a glove and tasted like love.   
“Things just happen.”   
Harry and Louis just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys you finished it! Congratulations!!! I am in the proses of writing another that will probably be a little more mature, it isn't just a Larry fic but also has a Zayn, Liam, Niall love triangle along with some Zarry action, It might sound kind of confusing but trust me it is worth it. Tell me what you think of the idea.


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